City of Helsinki prepares for possible impacts of municipal sector strike

The City of Helsinki is preparing for the impacts of the municipal sector strike possible starting on 19 April.
Koulun piha auringonpaisteessa.

The City of Helsinki is preparing for the impacts of the municipal sector strike possible starting on 19 April. On 21 March, employee organisations JUKO, JHL and Jyty filed a strike warning concerning the cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The strike warning applies to all members of these organisations, and thus also to the City of Helsinki and its operations.

JUKO, JHL and Jyty announced that the strike would last for seven days, i.e. 19–25 April. The start date of the strike may be postponed by two weeks.

The city is currently negotiating the tasks and operations to be excluded from the strike. The strike would affect the field of education in particular but also social services and health care as well as culture and leisure services.

If carried out, the strike will have a major impact on the organisation of all levels of education in Helsinki: early childhood education, basic education, upper secondary schools, vocational education and adult education centre activities. The impacts of the strike are currently being reviewed, and a contingency plan for the organisation of operations is being prepared. Families’ needs for early childhood education at the time of the possible strike are being surveyed. Plans are also being made for the possible interruption of teaching. Pupils, students and guardians will be informed of the strike’s progress. If the strike is cancelled, operations will continue as normal.

The strike may also impact the catering and cleaning of schools and daycare centres as a result of the catering and cleaning staff joining the strike.

Emergency services and urgent care provided by primary health care and oral health care units are excluded from the strike, so these services will function normally also during the possible strike. Cultural services (e.g. museums), library services, sports services and youth services will take part in the strike.

We will be monitoring the progress of the negotiations and update information on the impacts of the possible strike on services provided by the City of Helsinki on the website hel.fi.