9.11.2011 Juhani Artto

Almost 3,000 bank employees will strike from 6 a.m. on November 23 until midnight on November 30, unless the collective bargaining leads to an agreement prior to that. The threatened strike action has been announced by the salaried employees' trade union Pro and the bargaining organization of the senior salaried employees YTN. The overtime ban, declared on Monday, is to continue and affects the entire financial sector.
 
The parties have been negotiating a new agreement since early September. According to Pro's President, Antti Rinne, the disagreements concern both salaries and qualitative regulations on working conditions. Unlike employers in most other industries, financial sector employers have not been willing to negotiate on the basis of the framework agreement, signed in October by the labour market confederations.
 
- It is incomprehensible that the Federation of Finnish Financial Services is claiming to be worried about the weak economic situation but is not prepared to commit itself to the framework agreement, says Johanna Lähteenmäki, the chief negotiator of YTN's financial sector.
 
The previous agreements expired at the beginning of November. The negotiations cover working conditions for some 23,000 employees.
 
The strike will affect all units of FD Finanssidata, OP-Palvelut and Samlink. The strike will also concern Sampo Pankki and Danske Bank's units at Kaupintie 3. The strike will soon have an impact on the services of these organizations.
 
Any tasks vital to the life or health of citizens are excluded from the strike action, as are activities essential to the functioning of the State.