JHL is starting a ban on overtime and shift swaps in the private social services sector

Trade Union JHL is starting an extensive ban on overtime and shift swaps in the private social services sector as of 2 May 2023. The ban applies to the whole country. The ban reinforces demands for proper pay raises.

JHL is starting a ban on overtime and shift swaps in the private social services sector on Tuesday 2 May 2023 at 1 pm. The ban on overtime and shift swaps applies to all work duties within the private social services sector’s collective agreement. The ban on overtime and shift swaps will end on Tuesday 16 May at 1 pm.

With the ban on overtime and shift swaps, JHL is demanding proper pay raises for the sector’s employees.

– It is shameful that the private sector pays less for similar or equally demanding work than the public sector. There is a risk that skilled employees will leave the sector for duties with a lesser workload and where the appreciation for the work is reflected in pay as well. If the employer party is unwilling to ensure the attractiveness of the sector, how will we then make do with the ever-increasing shortage of employees? JHL President Päivi Niemi-Laine asks.

Negotiations on this year’s pay raises for the private social services sector did not proceed at the beginning of the year, and the main contracting organisations terminated the collective agreement at the end of March. As a result, the entire collective agreement was the subject for negotiations in April. The negotiations ended without a result and the agreement expired on 30 April 2023.

– The views of the employer and employee parties were quite far apart, and no solution was found in the negotiations, JHL’s bargaining specialists Tanja Tuunainen-Vainio and Hanna Katajamäki explain.

In Finland, there are thousands of workplaces that produce private social services. The sector’s professionals work in, say, private day care centres, assisted living and nursing homes, housing services for people with disabilities, mother-and-child homes, shelters, substance abuse centres, child protection, and as personal assistants. Over 70,000 employees work in the sector.

Employees are represented in the the private social services sector’s collective agreement negotiations by the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Talentia Union of Professional Social Workers, social services sector alliance Salli ry and health and social services sector’s negotiation organisation Sote ry. The employer is represented by the Finnish Association of Private Care Providers.

More information: President Päivi Niemi-Laine, 702 4772
Bargaining Specialist Hanna Katajamäki, 050 513 7701  
Bargaining Specialist Tanja Tuunainen-Vainio, 050 463 2243