The Finnish Post and Logistics Union PAU has announced industrial action starting on November 11, unless a solution is found in the negotiations before that time. The potential strike would affect parts of Posti’s services. All Posti’s services are running normally for the time being. If realized, the potential strike would hinder mail delivery. The scope of the impact would become clear at the beginning of the potential strike.
“At the moment, all our services are available as usual, and we are happy to accept items for delivery to recipients. If the strike does take place, according to PAU it will only begin after some weeks, on November 11,” says Jarmo Ainasoja, Head of Exception Management at Posti.
Ainasoja hopes that the strike can be avoided, but Posti is also prepared for potential interruptions.
“It is part of our normal operations to use temporary and supplementary staff alongside our full-time personnel. We can also use our subcontractor partners to ensure that our customers receive the agreed services as well as possible. Unfortunately, the situation can get very challenging, if the planned strikes are executed in the announced scope,” Ainasoja continues.
Current assessment of the impact of a PAU strike, if executed in full scope
Based on the information provided in PAU’s strike announcement and the threat of a full-scale strike, Posti estimates that if the strike begins on November 11, 2019, there will be interruptions in the delivery of print items (letters, magazines, advertisements) of up to several weeks. There can also be delays of several days in parcel deliveries.
Based on the information available at the moment, the strikes would not affect all of Posti’s services. Early-morning delivery of newspapers and Posti’s service points would continue to operate normally. In addition, warehouse and freight services would operate normally during the announced strike.
According to PAU’s strike announcement, work related to safety and health would be out of scope of the work stoppages. Posti expects PAU to bear its responsibility and to ensure on its part that these vital deliveries can be made in a normal manner.
Posti will publish daily updates on the impact of the potential strike on Posti’s services on its website and on Twitter. News releases are available, for example, on the following page: https://www.posti.fi/business/help-and-support/news/.
“We thank our customers for their patience and deeply regret the uncertainty and potential disruption caused by PAU. Should the strike take place, we will do everything to ensure the delivery of items to their recipients, even if with some delay,” Ainasoja concludes.
