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TheFinnish general strike of 1956 is the latest of the threegeneral strikes in Finnish history; there have also been general strikes in1905 and1917. The 1956 strike occurred from March 1 to March 20, 1956. About 500,000 Finnish citizens took part in the strike.[1]
Following the end of post-war price control measures bythe government in 1955, the prices of many goods and services was on the rise. The cost of living in Finland increased by 7% in two months. TheCentral Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) attempted to raise the overall level of wages to account for the rise in the price level. Though internally conflicted on the fine print, the SAK was demanding a raise of 12mk per hour, which would raise the wages of Finnish workers by 6–10 percent.
The1956 presidential election coincided with the industrial negotiations.[2] One of the candidates was then-Prime MinisterUrho Kekkonen, who didn't want to risk losing the presidential electoral college vote by accepting the SAK's proposal.
On February 16, the SAK's leadership decided to go forth and launch a general strike. Following the fall-through of emergency negotiations between the SAK and thenSpeaker of the ParliamentKarl-August Fagerholm, the industrial action was started at 06:00 on March 1,[3] the dayPresidentUrho Kekkonen assumed office for his first term.
The general strike, which concluded on 20 March, resulted in a nationwide wage increase of 6–10 percent.[4]
The general strike intensified the internal conflicts of theSocial Democratic Party and resulted in a leftist faction centred aroundEmil Skog leaving the party shortly after.[5]
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