- Asian markets track Wall St records after US inflation data
- Pro-Turkey Syria mercenaries head to Niger to earn cash
- FIFA meets to award 2027 Women's World Cup under Gaza cloud
- Iraqi car bomb survivor eyes gold in Paris Paralympics
- The Greatest, the Baddest and the best: six undisputed heavyweight champions
- France deploys troops, bans TikTok to quell deadly New Caledonia unrest
- Coppola's epic 'Megalopolis' finally arrives at Cannes
- French prison van attack takes drug battle to 'worrying' new level
- Chiefs host Ravens in NFL season-opener
- Arab leaders head to Bahrain for Gaza-focused summit
- Without Messi, Miami's winning run ends with derby draw
- Top UN court hears S. Africa calls to stop Israel Rafah offensive
- Celtics overpower short-handed Cavs to reach conference finals
- New Canadian firefighters train for brutal fire season
- Violin village: Artisanal hub in Bolivian Amazon
- What will be the repercussions of Biden's new China tariffs?
- Mission impossible? Next Boeing CEO faces pile of problems
- 'No secret': modest Mexican taco restaurant wins Michelin star
- Slovak PM fights for his life after assassination attempt
- Japan economy suffers worse-than-expected contraction of 0.5%
- Raccoon invades pitch during MLS game
- Verstappen seeks to restore order at Imola as F1 remembers Senna
- Brazil announces aid to families as Lula visits flooded south
- Fury's father offers olive branch to Usyk camp after bust-up
- Griezmann hat-trick fires Atletico into Champions League
- Griezmann treble fires Atletico into Champions League with treble
- US consumer inflation eases slightly in April, sending stocks higher
- Scheffler, McIlroy, Koepka set for PGA showdown at Valhalla
- Chelsea being rewarded for patience, says Pochettino
- Dutch parties reach deal to form government
- IMF approves use of reserve assets for 'hybrid' financial instruments
- Fernandes will leave if he feels unwanted at Man Utd
- PSG put end to Nice's Champions League hopes
- Vlahovic fires Juve to 15th Italian Cup past long-suffering Atalanta
- Google's AI search revamp puts publishers in a quandary
- Juventus win Italian Cup for 15th time
- Troubled Man Utd keep alive European hopes with win over Newcastle
- Putin arrives in Beijing seeking greater support for war effort
- 'Mad Max' tears through Cannes with frenetic 'Furiosa'
- Zverev beats injury scare to reach Rome semis as Collins sets up Sabalenka clash
- Slovak PM shooting suspect named as 71-year-old writer
- Multiple women accuse David Copperfield of sex misconduct: report
- Victoria's Secret reviving fashion show after six-year hiatus
- Redemption for Rodgers as Celtic maintain grip on Scottish title
- Chiefs kicker Butker slammed for 'sexist, homophobic' speech
- Modest Mexican taco restaurant wins Michelin star
- 'Ready to rumble' - Biden, Trump agree to two election debates
- Slovak PM's 'life in danger' after assassination attempt
- Guatemala court opens door to freeing journalist from jail
- Tabilo into Rome Open semis as Collins sets up Sabalenka clash
Thousands strike in Finland over labour reform
A massive Finnish strike movement kicked off on Thursday, grounding most air traffic and closing workplaces in a protest against proposed government labour reforms that include social benefit cuts.
About 300,000 people are expected to take part in the two days of strike action.
With air traffic widely disrupted, national carrier Finnair has cancelled 550 flights, affecting 60,000 passengers.
Trains across the country and metros, buses and trams in the capital will grind to a halt on Friday, while various unions called for stoppages in the energy sector, schools and healthcare services.
Industry, restaurants, hotels, postal workers and other retail sectors and services are also affected.
A protest called by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) gathered around 13,000 people in Helsinki on Thursday, police said.
"The biggest problem is that they are trying to weaken the unions' powers to negotiate the (collective) agreements which are usually done by the employers lawyers and the unions' lawyers," 30-year-old demonstrator Henri Mertto, who works as a ship crewman, told AFP.
Like its Nordic neighbours, Finland is known for its generous welfare model, which offers strong protection and benefits for employees.
But conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's coalition government has argued the country needs an "export-driven labour market model" to boost competitiveness.
Unions have vowed to paralyse the country to force the government to back down.
"Strikes of this magnitude, that will cause great losses to the Finnish economy in a difficult economic situation, are excessive and disproportionate," Orpo told Finnish news agency STT in Brussels where he attended a European Union summit.
The Confederation of Finnish Industries told AFP the strikes would result in a loss of around 360 million euros for gross domestic product.
Tiina Ivakko, head of a Helsinki daycare centre, told AFP many of her employees didn't show up for work on Thursday and parents kept their kids at home.
"We have, on a normal day, 300 children and a staff of over 50. We have had very few children, about 30, 40, and for staff we have about half of what we usually have," she said.
Some travellers went to Helsinki airport in the hope their flight would be among the few taking off.
"My flight looks like it's going to fly ... but if not then I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe take a taxi back home and go to work," Niklas Sinisalo, an engineer, told AFP.
He was not bothered by the inconvenience, saying the strike was "for a good cause."
Many supermarkets remained open but shorter opening hours and product shortages were expected toward the end of the day.
- Weaken employees rights -
Among the planned reforms is a change of the rules for collective bargaining negotiations.
Proposed cuts to social benefits would include making the first day of sick leave unpaid and cutting earnings-related unemployment benefits, with the amount decreasing the longer the period of unemployment lasts.
There would also be restrictions on the right to strike and greater rights for employers to negotiate agreements locally.
Markku Sippola, a senior lecturer in social sciences at the University of Helsinki, said the reforms constituted "a very significant change".
"They will weaken the employee's position in terms of both unemployment security and protection against unjustified dismissal and the right to strike," he told AFP.
Pekka Ristela, head of international affairs at SAK, said the government proposals would "weaken the livelihoods of especially low-income employees who become unemployed".
Merja Hyvarinen, who attended Thursday's demonstration wearing a hi-viz vest from the Public and Welfare Sectors Union, said she was worried what the proposed changes would mean for her two children.
"If the government's changes are realised, they'll have a rocky road ahead at work in the future."
Strikes are relatively uncommon in Finland, especially ones involving white-collar workers.
O.Lorenz--BTB