In spite of the strike by sales staff at Alko, the state-owned chain of liquor stores, the foremen of Alko outlets in the Helsinki districts of Arkadia, Itä-Pasila, and Malmi managed to keep their doors open on Thursday.
Nationwide, 40 outlets remain in operation.
According to manager Timo Susi of the Arkadia store, there were clearly more clients yesterday than on a normal Thursday. There was no congestion, but a steady clinking of bottles could be heard from all four check-out counters throughout the day.
The Arkadia outlet is Alko’s flagship store. Customers polled by the newspaper did not seem overly concerned at the possibility of the strike's becoming prolonged.
"There is no need for hoarding. One can always buy beer from supermarkets", one man commented.
The Alko outlets that will remain open during the strike have been listed at www.alko.fi.
