More than a hundred years ago, the history of Finnish strikes was made at Voikka paper mill.
Illustration from the Voikkaan paper mill. LAURI OLANDER/KL
The discussion around strikes has intensified again after SAK and its unions announced on Wednesday about new two-week political strikes. The strikes are scheduled to start next week, and they will especially target Finnish freight traffic.
Finland’s history has seen many kinds of strikes, some of which are well-known and some less well-known.
In 1904, a strike started at the Voikka paper mill that became a national topic of conversation. The series of events was given the sub-stylish name “pilllakko” by the people.
The chain of events that led to the mighty strike was started by the foreman of the factory Eugene Schmitzin actions perceived as offensive towards the factory’s female workers. At first, it was said that the activity was harassment, but as the events progressed, they even started talking about rape. According to a Yle article published in 2021, Schmitz had tried, among other things, to kiss and lift women’s skirts
The factory workers’ dissatisfaction was also increased by the perceived harsh working conditions.
The matter was not addressed, and despite the demands of the employees, Schmitz was not fired. Dissatisfaction with the factory’s management grew, so the workers started a strike that lasted for weeks, which closed the Voikka paper mill and the Kymintehta and Kuusankoski paper mills.
The strike, known by its exaggerated name Rivosta, ended in the defeat of the strikers. However, it went down in history: Finland’s chastity wars -podcast, it was perhaps the world’s first strike to fight against harassment and for moral behavior.
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