Announcement of the political strikes in Aviation Industry

These unions are organizing eg. ground handling personnel, cleaners, retail workers, security guards, safety inspector and security guard, hotel personnel, cabin crew, platform bus drivers and fuelers. This political strike will shut down basically the whole aviation industry in Finland for two days in February.

Finnish Air Line Pilots’ Association SLL is involved as an independent operator and decides the scope of its activities separately.

Background for the political strike

The Finnish Government is planning a major assault on working conditions, the right to strike, and social welfare. The cuts will affect employees and the most vulnerable people in society. While the Government seeks to justify such cuts as a way of reducing costs and boosting employment, undermining the status of employees will have no significant impact on the Finnish economy or the employment rate. Instead, the Government’s true objective is to give more power to employers.

The Government is not listening to the concerns of employees and has declined to negotiate with their representatives in any meaningful way. The trade union movement must accordingly apply other approaches to ensure that the voice of employees is heard.

Unions affiliated to SAK began a programme of political strike action in autumn 2023, calling on the Government to cancel the cuts and initiate genuine dialogue with employee representatives. This means that the political strikes are not primarily aimed at employers but seek to influence political decisions. This campaign of industrial action has been arranged under the banner of #SeriousGrounds.