Negotiations to end a pharmacists' strike continued on Tuesday but no breakthrough in the dispute was reached. The two sides have been arguing over the details of the industry contract for two weeks, and do not appear any closer to reaching a deal. The strike now encompasses 60 percent of pharmacies in the country. The Finnish Pharmacists' Association wants a pay raise of an average 500 euros a month, to be implemented over the next two or three years. "Compared to other fields or other professionals in private sector, our salaries are 500 or even 900 euros less than the others. We feel that our job in coming to pharmacy is a demanding job of an expert. But the salary has not met this expectation," says the President of the Pharmacists' Association, Inka Puumalainen. Strike Expanded on Monday Some 150 new pharmacies joined the labour action on Monday. The greatest impact will be on the activities of larger pharmacies, and on the capacity of pharmacies to advise customers. Pharmacists insist their salaries, which they believe have stagnated, need to be rectified. A list of pharmacies affected by the strike can be found in PDF format in Finnish on the Finnish Pharmacists' Association website.
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