A-Infos (en) Finnish strike news

[Ilan Shalif <gshalif@netvision.net.il>]

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From: Antti Rautiainen <antti.rautiainen@kolumbus.fi>


In next monday morning, all capital area transport has been in
complete
chaos for a week. Only local trains and two non-union driver buslines
have
been working during drivers strike against competiting of collective
traffic, all other buses, trams and tubes have been out of use and all
their
2000 drivers in strike.
  Competiting has been a curse for drivers for years, every year
winners of
the competition sack drivers and hire most of them again, with old
experience-benefits lost, wages reduced and schedules tightened.
Employers
have succeeded in using pigholes of common collective agreement for
all the
municipal workers. Only thing wich has curbed drivers to strike before
is
that striking against competiting is illegal, because it's not a part
of the
official agreement. But now illegal strike has been running a week, a
strike
wich is surely "a strike of the nineties" in Finland.
  This far moving in the city has been almost easier than ever, for
collective solidarity I  ever have had to hitchike in motorway more
than a
minute until a ride. Next morning the things might be different,
because
local trains will start a solidarity strike, and 100 000 who have
squashed
themselves into trains are forced to go on wheels too, or walk in
coldness
exceeding -20C at worse. But traffic chaos may withdraw in a couple of
days
if drivers of snowploughermachines join solidarity strike also, it's a
bit
difficult to go to work your car buried in snow... then  the city
would
became quite general striky.
   No question about peoples sympathy, although all difficulties.
According
to poll of last thursday -wich is not completely trustworthy because
bought
by union-, 80% of capital area inhabitants are supporting strikers and
9%
opposing. In whole country, numbers are 66% and 11%. Just a few
samples from
TV interviews of peoples in traffic jams: "They are striking for all
of us",
"They've been pushed around for a time long enough", "I hope the
employers
would be more flexible", and so on.
  Solidaarisuus organized a picket with drivers in last thursday, It
didn't
lasted long (Drivers weren't hard-boiled enough picketers for such a
frost)
and there weren't very many demonstrators, but the spirit was high and

Solidaarisuus get publicity. Pickets are not very usual in Finnish
strikes,
for some reason strikers usually just sit in home. Maybe they don't
believe
working-class solidarity. This strike has also revived some long-time
forgotten strike traditions, non-union driver lines have been in a
quite
good egg-rain for a couple of mornings....
  The strike has (once again, I think) proved what a trap centralized
collective bargaining with work-peace obligation is for the labor
movement.
Tens of peoples have been threated to fire if they're not able to come
to
their workplaces, some carless people have been forced to pay 250$ for
taxis
only for one week. But the unions aren't able to prevent this pushing,

because they have their contract with work-peace obligation. If not,
we
would have a (fake) general strike right now!
   A bit more sad is the situation of firemen-strike. The strike has
lasted
two months (VERY unusual in Finland), employers have choosed a vicious
way
to boil strikers slowly to the end. Less than ten percent of normal
operational firemens (2000+ nationnwide) are in "protection-work", and
even
less scabs are working. Private ambulances drive 50-hour shifts (at
least
two ambulance-collisions in Helsinki), heart attacks have resulted
deaths
and many more shitty things have occurred, thanks to employers
non-compromise line. But the motive for strike is too much in contract

details, and strike wouldn't become such a popular hit althought it is
at
least as justified as the strike of drivers. The situation is becoming

shittier every day, firemen's union is running out from money and
Solidaarisuus isn't able to do anything (our possibilities for
fundraising
are very limited), and appealing to employers cold-blooded negotiators
is
worth of nothing. Municipalities have common employing-negotiation
structure
nationwide wich should be in taxpayer control, but it seems to be in
hands
of fascists. An issue worth of campaining.
  If some of you have enough resources for fundrasing in scale of
5000$ or
more, contact me and I would give details how to help firemen. I'm
afraid
smaller amounts aren't worth of sacrificing.

Anyway, send solidarity messages to firemen (drivers doesn't seem to
have a fax)
SPAL
fax: 358-9-753 1393

Antti Rautiainen
Solidaarisuus
PL 102 00801 Helsinki Finland
"One nation under a groove,
 gettin' down just for the funk of it,
 one nation and we're on the move,
 nothin' can stop us now"





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