Unions representing government workers — including police officers and prison staff — have issued a strike warning for 15 April.
If no resolution to the dispute over pay is found before then, police officers from the Western Uusimaa Police Department as well as staff at prisons in Hämeenlinna and Vantaa will walk off their jobs for two days. If it goes ahead, the strike action at the two prisons will not include healthcare staff.
Workers will also strike at the State Treasury Office, the government's Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR (Palkeet) and the government's ICT Centre (Valtori).
The dispute centres around wage negotiations for government workers, with the previous agreement running out at the end of February and efforts to agree a new deal resulting in a stalemate.
The employees are represented in the talks by the Negotiation Organisation for Public Sector Professionals (Juko), the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL), and the Trade Union Pro.
The Office for the Government as Employer (VTML), which represents employers in the dispute, suspended negotiations on 7 March after the unions rejected the offer on the table.
The VTML had offered 6.3 percent pay increases over the next three years, but police officers and other state employees are demanding an increase of 7.8 percent over the three-year contract period. In response, VTML said this demand is too high, citing the poor state of the country's finances and the fact that government staffing costs amounted to some 5.5 billion euros last year.
In issuing the strike warning on Monday, the unions warned that the industrial action would be expanded if there is no willingness from the employers' side to negotiate.
First police strike in nearly 50 years
Strikes by government employees are exceptionally rare in Finland.
The last time members of the Finnish police force went on strike was in 1976, and the last walkout by civil servants took place in 1986.
Helsingin Sanomat reported earlier this month that the Finnish Police Union (SPJL) had decided to go on strike, with the paper citing a message published in an internal police group.
Each of the unions in the dispute have already started some form of industrial action, such as a ban on overtime and shift swaps.
In total, about 80,000 employees are included in the negotiations.
Aside from police officers and prison staff, the unions also represent government employees from the Finnish Tax Administration, courts, the Finnish Border Guard and the Defence Forces.
About 40 percent of government employees work in defence or security.
The unions noted that the strike would not affect tasks that could potentially endanger public health or safety.
Duties related to regional and municipal elections would also be excluded from the strike, the unions added.
