Trade Union JHL

Strike in the private teaching sector

The strike will take place from 23 to 24 April 2024. It concerns several private schools and educational institutions.

The National Conciliator’s conciliation proposal was rejected on Friday 19 April, and this means that the strike in the private teaching sector will happen.

In total the strike will involve about 1,500 members of trade unions in six localities. The strike will start on Tuesday 23 April at 12.01 am and end on 24 April at 11.59 pm. This is not a political strike that opposes the Finnish Government’s weakenings to working life. The purpose of this strike is to speed up negotiations on the union members’ terms and conditions of employment in the private teaching sector. The strike will take effect in sixteen private schools and educational institutions.

JHL, OAJ and Jyty have conducted collective agreement negotiations with Finnish Education Employers (FEE) all spring. The aim of these negotiations has been a new collective agreement on the terms and conditions of employment in the private teaching sector, but the negotiations were unsuccessful and were stopped.

Impacts of the strike

The strike concerns work shifts that start during the above-mentioned period of time in the following schools and educational institutions:

  • Helsingin suomalainen yhteiskoulu
  • Herttoniemen Yhteiskoulu ja reaalilukio
  • Hyria Koulutus Oy 
  • International School of Helsinki
  • Kalevan lukio, Tampere 
  • Kouluyhdistys Pestalozzi Schulverein Skolföreningen – Helsingin saksalainen koulu
  • Kulosaaren Yhteiskoulu
  • Lahden yhteiskoulun säätiö
  • Lauttasaaren Yhteiskoulu
  • Oulunkylän Yhteiskoulu
  • Pohjois-Haagan Yhteiskoulu
  • Suomen Diakoniaopisto – Sdo Oy 
  • Svenska samskolan i Tammerfors
  • Tampereen yhteiskoulun lukio
  • Töölön Yhteiskoulu
  • Viipurin reaalikoulu – Maunulan Yhteiskoulu and Helsingin Matematiikkalukio

Such work tasks where not carrying out the tasks might endanger life, health, safety or property will be ruled outside industrial action. The following are also excluded from the strike:

  • work tasks that are necessary for organising the final exams of IB secondary schools,
  • principals of the schools,
  • members of Opsia ry and KEA ry, as well as
  • the entire Oulu campus of the Diakonia College of Finland (Suomen Diakoniaopisto).

What is this strike about?

  • The private teaching sector’s collective agreement expired at the end of March. The collective agreement for the private teaching sector is applied in private general education schools as well as in many vocational education institutions, institutions of basic education in the arts and liberal adult education and in many folk high schools and sports institutes.
  • After the expiry of the collective agreement the obligation to maintain industrial peace no longer applies. The purpose of the strike is to speed up the process of reaching a new collective agreement. In other words, this is not a political strike.
  • The terms and conditions of employment for those employees who are covered by the collective agreement remain as is based continuing effect until a new collective agreement is reached.
  • In addition to teachers, the collective agreement for the private teaching sector applies to administration and support staff of the educational institutions, who are represented by JHL and Jyty.
  • OAJ, JHL and Jyty will pay strike benefit for those members who are on strike. The organisations will provide more detailed information on the strike arrangements for their members in their own communication channels.

Lisätietoja:
Senior Bargaining Specialist Hanna Katajamäki, JHL, 050 5137 701
Bargaining Specialist Laura Tuominen, JHL, 050 4092 460