Strike

No. Strike action is a legal right of workers. PAM will give notice of the strike to the employers. Workers don’t need to notify their employer of strike action beforehand. The employer is not allowed to ask whether a worker will participate in a strike or if they are a member of the union. 

No. The right to strike is a fundamental right. The Finnish Constitution guarantees the freedom of assembly and association, and the right to form trade unions and organise in order to look after other interests and thus the right to strike. In addition, Finland has ratified the ILO core conventions on the freedom of association and effective collective bargaining.

If your employer pressures you or your co-workers, inform your union representative (luottamusmies) or PAM regional office right away. 

A strike is a collective action decided by a trade union. As an individual worker you cannot decided to go on strike on your own. I PAM the Executive Committee decides on strikes.

If you want to contribute to industrial actions, please contact PAM’s regional office.

You apply for strike pay by filling out an electronic form.

In general, you can apply for strike pay if you would have had a workshift of at least 4 hours at a strike site on the day of a strike.

Payment of strike pay requires that you’re a paying member of PAM or another trade union and that your membership started no later than the day of the strike.

You do not need to register for a strike in advance. After the strike you can apply for strike pay and that is confirmation to the union that you took part. 

You leave your shift when the strike begins. 

Before the strike begins, do the closing work, for example locking up, carefully as you normally would. It is good to agree beforehand how the closing work will be done so that leaving the workplace goes well. If necessary, you can hand over the keys against a receipt or in some other way that proves you have given the keys back.

You leave your shift when the strike starts. You don’t return to work in the middle of a shift if the strike ends during your shift.

Example 1: The shift starts at 4:00 and the strike starts at 6:00.
You go to work as normal at 4:00 and finish working at 6:00 when the strike begins.

Example 2: Shift is at 22:00-6:00, and the strike ends at 23:59.
You don’t go to work in the middle of the shift. You go back to work when your next shift starts.

Yes, you can. As a worker of a temporary agency, you need not and should not do work that is covered by the strike.

As a temporary agency worker, you can join a strike if: 

• you work at a location that is covered by the strike 
• you are called by the agency to work at a strike location during the strike. 

Even if you are called into work, you can decline. You can apply for strike pay, if you would have had at least a four hour shift during the work stoppage and you therefore loose income.

The employer cannot make you work at a company that is on strike.

If you have agreed in your employment contract to rotate at several locations and don’t have a regular work site, you just do your work as usual. A move cannot be made outside your regular work sites. The employer cannot during a strike rely on your contractual obligation to work at different establishments within the company.

If you do gig work, you can take on work that is not covered by the strike. During a strike you should refuse to work at a strike location.

If your employer threatens with repercussions, contact your union representative (luottamusmies) or the regional office immediately.

Don’t go to work. The strike also applies to part-time workers.

You can apply for strike pay if: 

• you are a paying member of PAM or another SAK-affiliated trade union  (Note! YTK is not a trade union) 
• you lose income because of the strike and your shift would have been at least four hours long. 

If you are doing compulsory work training at a strike site you should see the union representative (luottamusmies) for instructions in case your studies could be delayed by taking part in the strike. In general, no-one should do work covered by a strike.

If you work in one of PAM’s sectors, for example as a cleaner or or in the staff restaurant, at a another trade union’s strike location, then your work is not part of the strike.

If you work for example as a child nurse at a kindergarten where the trade union JHL has declared a strike, then you go on strike with the other employees and apply for strike pay from the trade union that declared the strike, in this case JHL. More information available on the website or via the helpline of the union that declared the strike.

You need not and should not do the work of an employee that is on strike. PAM’s Executive Committee decides the companies and locations of the strike. You can refuse to do work that is covered by a strike.

If the training takes place outside your workplace, you can take part in it. 

If you become sick before a strike starts and you are sick on the day of the strike, you must be paid sick pay as usual for the time of the strike. Send your medical certificates to your employer without delay and tell your employer when you recover. 

If you become sick after going on strike, you can apply for strike pay.

An employer is not allowed to put an employee in an unequal position on the basis of union activity.

The employee has the right to use occupational health services on the day of a strike. The same goes for other benefits such as vouchers for culture and sports.

You can always ask for help from your union representative (luottamusmies). Please contact him or her if you have any questions!

You can also call the employment helpline 030 100 625 weekdays from 10am to 2pm at or email lakko@pam.fi. 

A strike picket represents the workers on strike and PAM in front of the strike location. If you are a member of PAM you can become a picketer. It is indeed recommended. 

Pickets ensure order in front of striking workplaces, share information about the strike to workers and consumers, monitor employers’ actions and report to the strike committee on the general mood and impressions and any strike-breakers etc.  

Pickets are not entitled to prevent anyone entering the workplace or to meet without permission inside the workplace. 

As a picket you can also be on duty outside a striking workplace where you do not work yourself. You can register as a picket by e-mailing your regional office. Picket duty shifts are arranged in advance, with the length of shifts adapted to working times and conditions at the workplace. Pickets always carry a PAM badge.

Wages or for example lunch vouchers are not paid for the day(s) you are on strike. PAM compensates the lost income by paying strike pay to union members that join the strike.

Employees are in principle obliged to try to get to work by all reasonable means.

If there is no replacement public transport, you have no car, carpooling or cycling is not possible due to the length of the journey, a strike may be considered a valid reason to stay away from work. In these circumstances, absence cannot be considered unjustified, and therefore cannot lead to a warning or other consequences. However, the employer is not obliged to pay wages during the absence.

It is recommended that you explain the situation to your employer in advance and agree on how to proceed.

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No. The right to strike is a fundamental right. Everybody has the right to join a strike. The Criminal Code forbids discrimination at work, that means an employer is not allowed to treat a worker differently because they joined strike action. 

Therefore, an employer is not allowed to terminate an employment contract or to terminate the employment of anyone on probation or a temporary contract. An employer may not discriminate against an employee taking part in strike action, for example when deciding on working hours, working time, pay rises and so on. (Criminal Code, Chapter 47, Section 3). 

If your employer threatens you, you should contact your union representative (luottamusmies) or PAM regional office. We at PAM take all threats seriously and investigate them. 

The start of a strike does not interrupt annual holiday that has already begun. Employers must pay holiday pay as normal before a strike starts. 

If your holiday ends when the strike is on, contact your union representative (luottamusmies). Payment of holiday bonus requires going back to work after the holiday. Talk to your union representative about any arrangements regarding this. 

If a strike starts before agreed annual holiday, the worker is on strike and the holiday is rescheduled. 

If a strike and pre-announced holiday start on the same day, the worker is on annual holiday, since annual holiday starts at midnight and the strike only afterwards (that is when your shift would start).