”We should be getting compensation”

Unpaid midweek holidays are still commonplace in the property services sector. Some employers do not pay compensation for midweek holidays to part-time employees, instead they try to avoid paying the compensation by arranging work shifts in a different way during these holidays. The matter is also discussed in a joint working group between Service Union United PAM and the employers’ organization Real Estate Employers. Still, there are companies that do not pay compensation.

– It doesn’t seem fair, says Elina from Kokkola, who has worked as a cleaner for almost 20 years.

– It’s cheating. I might work completely normally first, but then it’s a midweek holiday and all of a sudden I don’t have a shift scheduled for that day at all.

According to Elina, when a midweek holiday is, for example, on a Friday, she might be called to work the next day, on Saturday. She is not paid any extra for a midweek public holiday in those situations. Therefore, midweek public holidays are repeatedly treated as unpaid leave.

The employer has been unwilling to address the unequal treatment of part-timers  

The collective agreement stipulates that compensation must be paid for midweek public holidays to part-time employees, if the midweek public holiday would have been a working day according to the employee’s work schedule.

– Some employers try to avoid paying midweek holiday compensation by having the hourly workers do the work on other days, says Collective Bargaining Specialist Kaarina Ahonen.

According to Ahonen, employers try to save on salary costs by fiddling with shifts. Part-time workers are the ones who suffer from this.

– The issue has been known for a long time, but the employer has been unwilling to address the problem of unequal treatment of employees, Ahonen says.

”It feels like we are not appreciated” 

Noora, a part-time cleaner in Lappeenranta, says that the payment of midweek public holiday compensation has varied depending on the employer. Noora has been in the industry for more than 15 years and says that her previous employer paid some of the midweek holiday compensation, with the help of the union. For a long time, her current employer had the habit of moving her shifts so that no extra needed to be paid. 

– In the previous company, they didn’t want to pay any extra for midweek holidays, but after PAM contacted them, things started to change. After this, Noora started working in her current company and the same matter was on the agenda again.

According to Noora, in addition to earnings loss, moving hours and shifts has messed up the weekly rhythm and everyday life, for example, in terms of childcare.

– It feels like the we are not appreciated. When a midweek public holiday is coming up, I am feeling discouraged as I know that it means extra hassle.

It doesn’t increase work motivation when the employer is behaving like this.

Jorma, a cleaner living in Oulu, says the same. In his current workplace, he is not working on midweek public holidays.

– It doesn’t increase work motivation when the employer is behaving like this.  

Regular working hours suddenly drop on week of public holiday

In many cases, employers have referred to the hours stated in the employment contract and the opening hours of the cleaning facility. Even if the employee regularly works more than 30 hours a week, in the event of amidweek public holiday, the employer suddenly refers to contract hours, which may be 20 hours a week.

– On all other weeks, I usually work five days a week, but on the week of the midweek holiday, the employer claims that the contracted hours are already filled in four days, says Jorma.

At times Jorma’s work site has also been open on midweek public holidays, and in that case the employer has paid double the salary for work done on a midweek public holiday.

Same rules are needed for the entire industry  

All the interviewees feel that the practice should be equal everywhere. Now, the payment ofmidweek public holiday compensation for part-time workers largely depends on the company. As a rule, full-time employees do not experience the same challenges.

– In the working group looking at midweek holidays practices, PAM’s goal is to address the current shortcomings and guarantee equal treatment for all professionals in the field, regardless of their employment relationship, says Collective Bargaining Specialist Kaarina Ahonen.

This is done by updating the collective agreement regarding midweek public holidays so that employees have the opportunity to be with their families on midweek holidays and get paid for it.

– Collective bargaining is coming up early next year and we need strong support from the workers. Fortunately, the employees in the property services industry are supporting us, says Ahonen.

The message from the employees is clear.

– I hope that everyone in the industry, regardless of company, has the same rules, underlines Noora.

Elina agrees. It is not fair that part-time cleaners are left without paid midweek holidays.

– Yes, we deserve the same as others.  

Text: Pauli Unkuri
Picture: Shutterstock.