The two sides in the food sector dispute met on Monday for the first time since May 7. That same day, Labour Minister Anni Sinnemäki ordered a two-week cooling-off period before a threatened strike.
Negotiations are not scheduled to resume until Sunday. If no agreement can be reached, a new strike is to begin next Tuesday. Finnish grocery shops remain short of some food items as a result of a series of short strikes in recent weeks.
Health Care Talks Also on Ice
In other labour disputes, representatives of municipalities and the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy) also held talks on Monday. Those talks have also broken off, and are not to resume until May 28.
In the meantime, the union has declared a ban on overtime work and shift changes for its members in four major cities.
The union is seeking its own contract that would be separate from those governing all other municipal employees. The management side says this would undermine the whole municipal contract system.
Helsinki Bus Strike Looms
Talks aimed at averting a bus strike in Helsinki also ended without result on Monday. They are to resume on Tuesday.
Two drivers' unions have threatened two separate strikes: a two-day walkout to begin early Thursday, with another to begin June 3.
During their last walkout in late April and early May, at least 40 percent of bus service within Helsinki came to a halt.
The unions accuse the city's bus operating company of trampling on employees' rights. They say the offered contract would cut drivers' annual leave by 1-2 weeks and rubbish a well-functioning work shift system.
