The collective agreement negotiations of the private social services sector have broken down – JHL issues a strike warning

The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL has issued a strike warning concerning member companies of the Finnish Association of Private Care Providers (Hali) to speed up progress in the collective agreement negotiations of the private social services sector. The strike is going to take place on 17–19 February 2026 and it targets selected locations particularly in Lapland and northern Ostrobothnia as well as in child welfare units.

The negotiations are deadlocked because the parties disagree on developing the terms and conditions of employment in the sector and on the level of pay increases. The employer party has been unbending and offered pay increases that JHL finds insufficient.

JHL demands more substantial pay increases that can narrow unjustified differences in pay compared to similar work in the public sector.

“We cannot and will not stand by and watch as the employer party tries to introduce poorer terms and conditions of employment when the Government of Finland has already given a hard time to workers in the social services sector”, stresses the President of Trade Union JHL Håkan Ekström.

JHL’s view is that in the public sector the pays in female-dominated sectors have been adjusted in the right direction in the recent years. This development must not be stopped in the private sector where the work is equally valuable and responsible.

“Getting skilled and motivated employees in this sector also in the future requires systematic developing of the terms and conditions of employment and genuine cooperation. We expect from the employer association willingness to negotiate, not reluctance”, Ekström emphasises.

The strike concerns employer association Hali’s member companies that apply the collective agreement for the private social services sector.

Hali’s member companies that apply the collective agreement for the private social services sector can be subject to the strike in two ways. The purpose of the strike structure is to show that all work is important and that different employee groups need each other’s support to do their work seamlessly and sensibly.

1. All work duties at locations of the enterprise groups / companies / corporations listed in this appendix are subject to the strike. The focus is on Lapland and northern Ostrobothnia and on selected locations of child welfare work. In these locations, JHL is not alone on strike.

ADDITIONALLY

2. There will be an extensive strike of certain pay groups of the collective agreement for the private social services sector around Finland.

o all work duties in pay groups A and B, and
o kitchen, property and administrative work duties of pay groups C, D, and E, if the workplace is listed in this appendix. This strike applies only to JHL members.

The strike applies to work shifts that start between 17 February 2026 12:01 am and 19 February 2026 11:59 pm. All work shifts that start within this time interval are subject to the strike.

Related actions that support the strike

JHL supports the strike by declaring a ban on temporary transfers that is effective until further notice. The ban starts on 30 January 2026 at 12:01 am and applies to all JHL members who work in member companies of Hali. The ban will end when the other industrial actions end or when its ending is communicated separately.

Furthermore, until further notice, JHL members change work shifts only as overtime work.

More information:

President of JHL Håkan Ekström, 040 828 2865
JHL’s Bargaining Specialist Tanja Tuunainen-Vainio, 050 463 2243
JHL’s Bargaining Specialist Siru Heromaa-Karjalainen, 050 472 4270