SDP Chair Antti Rinne points out that there have been very few instances of strike action in Finland in the last decade. He says this is because the structure of labour struggles has changed.
“Labour strikes are walkouts staged in response to injustice experiences. They can last anywhere from a few hours to an entire day,” Rinne explained.
He maintains that strikes due to poor wages or work conditions are an increasingly rare occurrence in Finland. He says those few strikes that do take place can be better described as “comisseration demonstrations”.
He also doesn’t believe for a moment that Finland’s labour unions are unyielding.
“We have a good, working labour market community that works hard for its citizens. For ideological reasons, certain parties have wanted to create an image of a rigid trade union force in this country that shirks its responsibilities. This couldn’t be farther from the truth,” he said.
Wage moderation is necessary
Rinne agrees in that in the midst of Finland’s current dismal economy, wage moderation must prevail for some time, at least until Finland is back on its feet. In tandem with this, however, he says domestic purchasing power must be safeguarded.
“Of course we have to keep salaries were they are for the time being, but we also have to show some results for it, like creating new jobs.”
A recent Lännen Media-commissioned poll found that the majority of respondents would be open to freezing their current salary level for the next five years. The poll also discovered that most of the people who opposed an extended wage freeze were SDP supporters. Rinne says he understands their criticism.
“They are low-income people who have already had to make ends meet for several years using the same salary to meet rising consumer costs, all in the belief that their sacrifice would create new jobs.”
