The postal strike controversy in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in late 2019 saw widespread trade union protests which later resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister

Antti Rinne Antti Juhani Rinne (; born 3 November 1962) is a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland from June to December 2019, and served as Leader of the Social Democratic Party between 2014 and 2020. Biography A lawyer by profession, ...

and the resignation of his cabinet. In November 2019, Rinne and local government minister

Sirpa Paatero Sirpa Paatero (born 9 September 1964) is a Finnish politician of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who has been serving as Minister of Local Government in the government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin since 2019. Political career In parliamen ...

were accused of giving misinformation, specifically about the transfer of work-contracts of 700

Posti Posti can refer to: * ''Posti'' (1950 film), a Punjabi film * Posti Group, the Finnish national post office * Posti, Estonia, a place in south-eastern Estonia * Posti SA, tea company in Poland * ''Posti'' (2022 film), a Punjabi film {{Disa ...

(Finland's state owned postal service) package handlers, which would result in lower pay. The strike led to a one-day sympathy strike by Finland's transport sector, which had to cancel 300 flights. Gradually it transformed into a trade-union solidarity protest in the country. It ultimately led to the resignation of Prime Minister Rinne, when the Centre Party withdrew its support from his cabinet.

Background

Labor unions in Finland have been traditionally strong, but they have been angered by the competitiveness pact, which increased working hours three days a year without pay rise between 2016 and 2019. The deal was negotiated in 2019, to help Finland recover from recession. The center-left government, elected in 2019, was considered more favorable to employee concerns. However, a decision by Prime Minister

to shift 700

workers from packaging and e-commerce into a collective bargaining unit prompted widespread protests from postal workers.

The strike

In response, the postal and logistics union went into strike on November 11. 14 days later, solidarity protests from unions in other industries shut the nation down. Despite disruption in daily lives, 60 percent of Finns supported the move. Two days later, the postal workers reached an agreement with the government. Both parties settled that the 700 workers will return to the previous collective employee-employer agreement, and workers will return to their work.

Aftermath

In wake of the crisis, the Center Party said that it had lost confidence in Rinne, and Rinne handed over his resignation to president

Sauli Niinistö Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office. A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...

Sanna Marin Sanna Mirella Marin (; born 16 November 1985) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Finland since 2019. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP), she has been a Parliament of Finland, Member of Pa ...

, a

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

member, was appointed prime minister following his resignation.

References

{{Reflist 2019 in Finland Postal strikes Controversies in Europe 2019 controversies 2019 protests