Trade union PAM has expanded a planned strike in the retail sector to include K-Citymarket outlets in an effort to get rid of unpaid ‘kiky’ or ‘competitiveness pact’ working time for their workers.
If no deal is reached, the Kesko-run hypermarkets would be shut for two days from 27 February, while Kesko warehouses would face a five-day shutdown from 24 February.
The union had already announced a strike affecting Prisma outlets and their distribution network, owned by rival S-Group, during the previous week.
PAM chair, Annika Rönni-Sällinen,said that negotiations over pay and other terms and conditions had not advanced significantly.
"Talks have not progressed enough on the rules around using agency workers, ensuring enough hours to make ends meet and getting rid of the unpaid 'kiky' hours," the union boss said in a press statement.
She added that if the strike does happen, the union would not aim to close down every store to ensure customers aren't unduly inconvenienced.
The competitiveness pact has been heavily contested in the current round of pay talks in Finland, with the additional 24 annual unpaid hours already removed from collective agreements signed in several sectors.
Do you know your 'TES' from your 'Kiky'? If not, try this special edition of our All Points North podcast where we delve into the world of Finnish labour relations. You can listen to the podcast via this embedded player, Yle Areena, Spotify, iTunes or your normal pod player using the RSS feed.
