Finnair technical staff strike cancelled

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As we reported yesterday, the Union of Salaried Employees (TU) and the Finnair subsidiary Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations reached agreement on Monday in their dispute over the contracts of technical employees.
      With that, the strike planned for Tuesday morning was cancelled.
      The strike, which would have involved nearly 700 technical staff, would have soon grounded all of the national carrier's aircraft.
      Finnair Cargo Terminal Operations had planned to dismiss seven employees and to make changes to the contracts of 11 others from ordinary salaried employees to higher salaried employees.
      The move would have weakened their terms of employment, for example with respect to the bonuses contained in the contract for ordinary salaried employees.
     
The Finnair technical employees did not accept the changes, and together with the TU decided on Saturday to enter into an unlawful strike on Tuesday, unless the employer side cancelled the earlier decision by 4:00 PM Monday.
      Negotiations, however, were started on Monday afternoon, and the strike threat was lifted. Later in the day a final agreement was reached.
      According to Antti Rinne, the Chairman of the Union of Salaried Employees, the solution worked out is satisfactory in that the salaried employees will not be moved outside the TU labour contract.
      On the other hand, the TU failed to overturn the planned dismissals and temporary lay-offs.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Threatened Finnair strike cancelled for the time being (9.3.2009)

Links:
  Finnair press statement

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