Kone elevator installation and maintenance workers in Finland went on strike at 7am Wednesday to protest their employer's collective agreement measures, which shop steward Tapio Kuhmonen called "one-sided commands".
The 24-hour strike affects over 500 employees of Kone across Finland. HR chief Elina Jokinen said she considers the strike illegal.
The only tasks that will be performed during the work stoppage are life-saving in nature, such as helping people stuck in lifts. Installation and maintenance work on elevators, stairs and doors was ceased for the day.
Shop steward Kuhmonen called out Kone for many years of unfair practices.
"Collective agreements are a good way to find common ground between employer and employee. When the employer starts to dictate rules in a one-sided way, that goes against the spirit of the agreement," he said.
Kuhmonen said Kone has neglected its contractual obligation pertaining, for instance, to the payment of salaries. The company has also resolved some conflict situations with a decree of its own, without negotiating with the interested parties.
Challenging contract infringement difficult
Kuhmonen said the biggest problem with the situation is that Kone is rarely held accountable for infringing on work contracts. Employees may file a complaint with the Labour Court of Finland, but many do not find the resources to commit to such a complex process.
"Infringement conciliation talks don't always even reach the demands of the original agreement, even though both parties should respect the jointly produced rules," Kuhmonen said.
The shop steward said the situation had now reached a point, after 2-3 years, where the employees have no other recourse but to strike.
At the end of last year Kone had more than 57,000 employees worldwide, with about 2,300 of them in its home base of Finland.
