Trade unions have #SeriousGrounds to defend workers’ rights and to oppose the proposals made by the Orpo Government.

1. Why are we on a political #SeriousGrounds strike?

#SeriousGrounds is a campaign by SAK and trade unions, whose aim is to refuse the proposals by Petteri Orpo’s Goverment that would weaken employees’ right to strike, employment conditions and unemployment security. As the Government is not listening to us, we have no option but to defend workers’ rights with political strikes.

Read more and see a full list of the Government cuts at www.selry.fi/painavasyy.

2. What is a political strike?

A political strike does not target employers; it targets the political decision-makers, the Finnish Government.

A political strike is a legal strike. The strike does not have any consequences for any individual employee. The employer cannot terminate an employee’s employment due to participation in the strike.

A political strike concerns all work that the strike concerns and the workers doing the work. The strike also concerns employees who are not members of the trade union and, for example, temporary agency workers.

The employer will not pay the employees’ salary for the duration of the strike. SEL will pay a strike pay to its members.

3. Why do innocent employers have to suffer from the political strike?

If the proposals by the Orpo Government pass, they will increase the power of the employer and deteriorate workers’ rights. Employers are not “innocent” of the Government proposals. The employer organisations themselves have demanded these same cuts to workers’ rights in their own Parliamentary Elections objectives.

4. What are we seeking to achieve with the political strike?

We do not want the Orpo Government to increase uncertainty in Finnish work life. Our goal is for the Government to give up its proposals that would weaken employees’ right to strike, employment conditions and unemployment security.