Two unions, Tehy and Super, have announced a two-day strike in early childhood education in 14 cities on Tuesday and Wednesday, 13-14 February.
The unions are joining a number of other trade unions taking part in political strikes next week, which will affect shops, industries as well as the energy and transport sectors.
Tehy's and Super's action will affect all early childhood education units in the public and private sectors in the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Oulu, Joensuu, Pori, Rovaniemi, Kauniainen, Vaasa and the municipality of Korsholm (Mustasaari).
Early childhood education services include daycare workers, many of whom belong to either Tehy or Super. Public sector management personnel have been excluded from the strike.
There is expected to be some local variation in the impact of the two-day work stoppage, as is evident from four of the cities affected.
Jyväskylä
In Jyväskylä, daycare centres are likely to be open.
This is the third spring in a row that Jyväskylä's staff at daycare centres have gone on strike.
According to the city's service director of early childhood education, Tarja Ahlqvist, it likely that all the daycare centres will be able to operate normally, but with fewer staff.
The city has a decision in place which allows families to get a refund of daycare fees for strike days. According to Ahlqvist, this has made it easier for families to arrange alternative care for their children on those days.
Jyväskylä's early childhood education and care services has expressed the hope that children will be kept at home on strike days, if possible.
Oulu
Not all early childhood education units in Oulu can be kept open, said Pirjo Koret, the city's director of early childhood education.
"I think that we will have so many employees affected by the strike that we won't be able to organise pre-school education, for example. We will certainly have to close daycare centres as well," she told Yle.
It is still unclear to what extent operations will have to be cut back.
Families will be asked to organise their own childcare and, if they are able to do so, to give prior notice of their children's absence.
During a walkout in late January, Oulu's daycare centres were able to stay open, but at that time as well, families were asked to keep their children at home if possible.
"The safety of children is the number-one priority," said Koret.
Tampere
Some daycare centres are likely to have to close in Tampere. The strike will also affect pre-school education services.
Elli Rasimus, the director of early childhood education in Tampere, estimates that the strike will have a greater impact on early childhood education than did protests in January.
"I understand that this is a full walkout. This means our ability to provide services will be significantly impaired," she noted.
The number of children that can be in care during the strike will depend on how many staff are available to work on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to Rasimus, it is very difficult to estimate the number in advance.
"I believe that small daycare centres will have to close completely and larger ones will be cut back," Rasimus said.
Rasimus stressed that even in exceptional circumstances, the wellbeing of the children must be guaranteed and staffing levels must be in line with the law.
Efforts will be made to inform parents about the effects of the forthcoming strike as early as on Friday.
Vaasa
Maria Karvonen, deputy head of early childhood education in the city of Vaasa, said there is no need to close the city's daycare centres, but groups may be combined. However, the staffing levels laid down by law will be strictly adhered to.
"The strike will certainly affect us to some extent, but I don't think it will have a major impact," she said.
According to Karvonen, some childcare workers belong to Tehy or Super, but traditionally most are members of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL).
If necessary, the city will brief parents on the situation on Friday. The hope is that if the family has the option, children will be kept at home during the strike.
"There is no need to start looking for caregivers, so for example grandmas and grandpas don't need to be called in to help. But if parents do have time off work, it would be good to keep the children at home," Karvonen explained.
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