Close to 1,000 employees at breweries in Finland managed by Royal Unibrew-owned Hartwall, Carlsberg and Olvi are striking this week in a dispute over work conditions and pay.
Workers have downed tools across three breweries since yesterday evening (23 March), according to the Finnish Food Workers’ Union (SEL), which represents employees.
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Affected sites include the Lahti brewery run by Hartwall, Carlsberg’s Sinebrychoff site in Kerava and Olvi’s brewery in the North Savonian town of Iisalmi.
Hartwall’s warehouse in Tattariharju, Helsinki, and Sinebrychoff’s equipment business Sinebrychoff Supply Company will also see walkouts.
The strikes apply to all employees at the sites, and are expected to continue until 9:00pm on 28 March.
According to the SEL, the strikes are in opposition to employer efforts to bring in ten-hour shifts, using temporary labour “without limitation” and to make employees work longer hours during busy periods without overtime compensation.
No further action is planned for now, SEL told Just Drinks. The union confirmed it was awaiting to hear about further negotiations with the Finnish Food and Drinks Industry Federation (ETL), which represents employers, this week.
ETL, meanwhile, told this publication that negotiations have been confirmed for Wednesday (26 March).
Olvi said the company had “prepared for the strike”, with plenty of stock in place. Though the walkouts do impact operations, the independent brewer said it was “working to minimise any disruption” to deliveries.
It added production would be “partially operational” during the work stoppages, and that their products would remain available in stores.
In a statement, Sinebrychoff, which produces goods like Karhu beer and Coca-Cola soft drinks, said it had also prepared for the walkout which will affects “its production, logistics and on-trade technical service”.
It added that while there “would “should be no shortages” of products in its local on- and off-trade locations during the five-day period, “some package variants may run out of stock”.
Royal Unibrew nor Hartwall could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.
The strikes are part of a range of stoppages happening across the Finnish food and drinks sector at the moment.
Earlier this month, walkouts took place at Fazer and Lantmännen bakeries from 11 to 16 March. Strikes are also set to continue at 150 of the company’s bakeries between 31 March and 3 April.
The SEL had also announced strike warnings at 13 meat processing plants and ready-to-eat food sites. The two day stoppages, taking place at sites run by companies including HKFoods and Saarioinen, have been postponed by the Finnish Minister of Labour Arto Satonen from 25 March to 8 April, and will run for two days.
Collective agreements for food and drinks industry workers expired at the end of January and the SEL and ETL have not yet reached an agreement.
The SEL rejected a second settlement proposal issued on Friday. While negotiations continued on Saturday, a third settlement proposal wasn’t issued, causing the strikes to begin last night.
In a statement, Anne Somer, director of ETL’s work and skills unit said she could not “understand” nor “accept SEL’s actions”.
“The actual issue of contention concerns bakeries, but breweries are being put on strike. It is counterproductive and completely exceptional that breweries are being punished in order to get a better collective agreement and a solution that goes beyond the general policy for the bakery sector,” she said.
