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Strikes and other industrial actions
On this page, your trade union JHL has gathered information and instructions related to its industrial actions.
Trade Union JHL looks after its members’ terms and conditions of employment, also by means of industrial action, if necessary.
Strike in private social services: early childhood education and care 23 May – 24 May and 24-hour assisted living 23 May – 27 May and child protection 31 May – 3 June and early childhood education and care 31 May – 2 June
The strikes apply to 24-hour assisted living facilities in Pirkanmaa, Kanta-Häme and Päijät-Häme, and early childhood education and care units around Finland:
The strike applying to assisted living facilities will start on Tuesday 23 May 2023 at 12.01 am. It will end on Saturday 27 May 2023 at 11.59 pm. The industrial action will apply to work shifts that start during the strike.
The work stoppage in early childhood education and care applies to work shifts that start between 12.01 am on Tuesday 23 May 2023 and 11.59 pm on Wednesday 24 May 2023. The work stoppage will last until the end of the ending shift.
Strikes in child protection and early childhood education and care units in Uusimaa and Southwest Finland:
The strike applying to child protection will start on Wednesday 31 May 2023 at 12.01 am. It will end on Saturday 3 June 2023 at 11.59 pm. The industrial action will apply to work shifts that start during the strike. Strike locations for early childhood education and care
The work stoppage in early childhood education and care applies to work shifts that start between 12.01 am on Wednesday 31 May 2023 and 11.59 pm on Friday 2 June 2023. The work stoppages will last until the end of the ending shift.
Work tasks that require an employee’s constant and immediate presence because of a client’s state of health, and that are necessary to prevent the client’s life from being endangered, are ruled out of the strike.
Read the news article from 16 May on the private social services sector’s industrial action measures
Strikes in 24-hour assisted living and assisted living units in Uusimaa and Southwest Finland:
The strikes will begin at 12.01 am on Thursday 1 June 2023 and end at 11.59 pm on Saturday 3 June 2023. The industrial action will apply to all work shifts that start during this period of time. See the strike locations
Read the news article from 17 May about industrial action measures
Work tasks that require an employee’s constant and immediate presence because of a client’s state of health, and that are necessary to prevent the client’s life from being endangered, are ruled out of the strike.
Ban on overtime and shift swaps in the private social services sector 2–30 May
The ban started on Tuesday 2 May 2023 at 1 pm. It will be in place until 1 pm on Tuesday 30 May 2023 at 1 pm.
The ban has to do with the private social services sector’s collective agreement (abbreviated as “YSOS TES” in Finnish).
Your trade union JHL will inform about changes to the ban, or possible further measures, on this page and with member letters.
Why the ban on overtime and shift swaps
We are speeding up the private social services sector’s collective agreement negotiations. The collective agreement expired on 30 April and the sector is undergoing a period without agreement. Negotiations on a new collective agreement have been conducted since February. The employer party’s proposals have been quite far apart from JHL’s goals.
Personal assistants working under the Heta-tes agreement will be on strike from 25 to 31 May in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, and from 6 to 12 June in the whole country
The strike applies to duties within pay group A of the collective agreement for personal assistants (Heta-tes) in the Helsinki Metropolitan Region (Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen). The strike applies to personal assistants who work under the Heta-tes agreement that applies to the employer model for personal assistance.
Work tasks that threaten life and health have been ruled out of the work stoppage.
New measures that JHL has included in the industrial actions are agreements on long work shifts, agreements on exceptions to travel time’s work and rest periods, and agreements that concern diverting from overtime compensation. These industrial action measures apply to the entire country.
Ban on overtime, shift swaps and additional work, and a job search embargo in collective agreement for personal assistants (Heta-tes) as of 3 May
A ban on overtime, shift swaps and additional work, and a job search embargo started on Wednesday 3 May at 2 pm. It will continue until further notice.
Job search embargo means that JHL members should not seek work in the companies targeted by the embargo. A job search embargo is a valid reason for refusing work. If you are an unemployed jobseeker, you may refrain from seeking work offered by the TE Office and covered by the embargo. You will not be put under a mandatory waiting period.
Also read the news article from 3 May 2023 about Heta-tes industrial action measures.
Why the ban on overtime, shift swaps and additional work, and a job search embargo?
The measures are meant to speed up the collective agreement negotiations that have ended. The collective agreement for personal assistants (Heta-tes) that concerns the employer model for personal assistance expired at the end of April. The sector is undergoing a period without agreement. Negotiations started at the end of January. So far, the employer’s proposals and JHL’s goals have been quite far apart.
Instructions to members
See here for instructions on how to prepare for a strike, what to do when you’re on strike and what to do when the strike ends
Read the most frequently asked questions about industrial actions and strikes
Strike benefit
Read this important information!
Apply for strike benefit after the strike is over through myJHL. You can apply for it within 2 months from the strike. After that, the application system will be closed.
The part of the strike benefit that exceeds EUR 16 is income subject to tax (88§, “Tuloverolaki” (= Income Tax Act), decision by Finnish Tax Administration ). It is not necessary to submit your tax card. After the strike is over, JHL will pay benefits once a week. The union will notify the Finnish Tax Administration of the sum of strike benefits paid.
PLEASE NOTE! Concerning a week-long strike, strike benefit will be paid for a maximum of five days. This goes for all of JHL’s week-long strikes.
Whom the benefit is paid to
The benefit will be paid to members at the location of the strike who have participated in the strike.
To get the benefit, one must fulfil the following terms and conditions:
- The member has joined the union before the strike started. At least the first membership fee must be paid before the strike benefit can be paid.
- Even “old” members must have paid their membership fees.
- The member must abide by the decisions and instructions issued by JHL.
If you joined the union right before the strike, there may be a slight delay before the strike benefit application form appears in myJHL. This has to do with a delay in processing membership applications.
Strike benefit will not be paid:
- for working days/shifts done by those with a permission to work or done as emergency work
- to those who have joined JHL midway through the strike.
It is a fraud to apply for the strike benefit on false grounds.
How to apply for the strike benefit in myJHL
Log into myJHL, the strike benefit application is in the lower left corner of the page. Add your bank account details on the application form, mark your strike days, assure that the information given is correct, and save the form. After that, the member branch will review and approve the application. The payment will then be ordered. Benefits are paid once a week.
If you haven’t logged into myJHL before, read the instructions on the myJHL info page.