Members of the nursing unions Tehy and SuPer went on strike in April. The strike did not produce the desired results, and in May, the strike extended to several professional groups in the municipal sector. Other municipal employee parties would approve the proposed five-year wage program, which would raise wages by 5.1 per cent above general increases. However, Tehy and SuPer did not accept the proposal, so the healthcare industry is now preparing for mass redundancy.
METKA supports industrial action. However, its effects on students have not been sufficiently considered in universities of applied sciences, even though nurses have been planning a strike for several years. Covid-19 postponed the start of the strike, but finally, a strike warning was issued on 18 March. Furthermore, the strike began on 1.4.
The effect of the strike on the progress of studies
When the strike began, the work practices were suspended. Students were left to find out the situation of their work practices by themselves. In most cases, students were allowed to continue their work practice immediately after the strike, but communication with students at the start and during the strike was lacking. There were no standard guidelines, and the teachers guiding the work practices were not aware of Metropolia’s guidelines.
Not all students could continue their work practices. Their practices could be postponed for more than a year in the worst-case scenario. After the work practice, most students had to attend courses or start another work practice right after it. However, the start of the courses was not changed to correspond to the new time of the work practice. Students have not been able to participate in teaching, and not enough flexibility has been provided. Some courses that students may not be able to attend due to the extended work practices would be postponed in some cases over a year. For example, English courses are only held once per semester; thus, it is a course that would be pushed forward to the following year. This puts English-speaking degrees in an unequal position in particular.
Some students have been lucky enough to get recognition of prior learning (RPL) for their cancelled work practices with already agreed summer jobs. However, many students have summer jobs that may not correlate with the work practices they are trying to apply to the RPL. Students cannot be required to complete unpaid work practices during the summer instead of paid summer work. On the other hand, some students have not completed the required number of credits to get into summer jobs due to the strike. A student can work as a substitute registered nurse if they have completed 140 credits.
If mass resignations occur, there may be fewer work practices available in the future, especially in places close to students. In addition, inadequate tutoring can result in students not receiving well-supervised work practices and taking on too much responsibility. Patient safety also suffers.
Measures
METKA understands the scarcity of resources. Teachers do not have the opportunity to arrange classes outside of semesters or additional courses. However, METKA hopes that students, both graduates and others, have flexibility; for example, the opportunity to complete assignments independently and with the help of lecture recordings.
METKA also hopes that the transfer of the work practices or the change of the work practice place will go as smoothly as possible. For example, communication with the teachers in charge of the work practice should be smooth so that there is no need to wait unnecessarily long for an answer.
In future industrial action despite the sector, it would be good for Metropolia to have action plans so that no industrial action interferes with the standard progress of studies.
Valtteri Siljander
Chairperson of METKA’s board
This post is also available in Suomi.