Who are the parties involved in the industrial dispute?
The Finnish Union of Teachers (OAJ) and Sivistysala ry (Sivista). OAJ represents teachers and Sivista represents employers. Metropolia is therefore not a party to the industrial dispute, nor can it influence the strikes. Teachers who are members of the union are taking part in the strike.
How will the strike affect the organisation of teaching, and what is Metropolia doing about the situation?
Metropolia is endeavouring to hire part-time lecturers to cover compulsory laboratory sessions so that the strikes do not affect students’ progress or graduation. METKA recognises that missing lectures may affect learning outcomes and create a feeling of falling behind in one’s studies, as the missed topics will need to be studied independently. However, METKA believes that, provided the strikes do not drag on, their impact on students will be minimal.
If there are clashes in timetables due to lectures and laboratory sessions being concentrated on non-strike days, you should contact the head of your degree programme. Studies should not overlap in this way.
What is the strike about?
The collective agreement for universities of applied sciences (TES) has expired on the 31st of March, 2026. The negotiating parties, Sivista and OAJ, negotiated the specific terms of the TES, but no agreement was reached by the time it expired.
Trade unions have the right to use strikes as a means of industrial action to speed up the agreement and negotiations. The first strikes at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences took place in April. OAJ and Sivista have not yet reached an agreement, so the negotiating party representing teachers has decided to issue a strike warning for the autumn as well.
The strike is primarily driven by teachers’ pay. Around a quarter of teaching staff at universities of applied sciences receive an availability allowance. Broadly speaking, this allowance is paid to get the teacher positions filled, if a teacher is in a field where salaries are high within companies (primarily technical fields).
Sivista wants to remove the funds earmarked for the availability allowance after a certain period and distribute this pool of funds amongst the entire teaching staff in the way the university deems best. The OAJ opposes this model, as it would lead to a reduction in the salaries of certain groups of teachers and undermine salary progression. The OAJ demands that the salaries of other teaching staff be raised without reducing anyone’s current salary.
How long will the strike last?
The first strike lasted three days (1st-3rd of September, 2026). The second strike will last three days (8th-10th of September, 2026)
The OAJ has also issued third and fourth strike warnings, but as far as we know, Metropolia will not be taking part in them. Consequently, there should be a total of six days on which teaching will be affected.
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