Finland
Background information on industrial relations in Finland
- 28 Dec 1998
Finland: TT survey finds that company-level agreements will increase<#PDF_LINK>The Finnish employers' confederation, TT, conducted a survey in autumn 1998, seeking information on the measures that member companies consider will bring them success in the new millennium. According to the results, a key future development will be an increase in company-level agreements. The actual direction of change will also depend partly on the next government coalition and possible labour market reform.
- 28 Dec 1998
Finland: STTK demands limits on overtime<#PDF_LINK>In December 1998, the STTK white-collar trade union confederation discussed the issue of excessive overtime working with Finland's industrial safety authorities. According to STTK research, overtime work - paid, unpaid and unregistered - is on the increase, causing a severe health and safety problem and calling for official action.
- 28 Dec 1998
Finland: Service sector unions sign letter of intent to merge<#PDF_LINK>In December 1998, four trade unions in Finland's service sector signed a letter of intent concerning a merger. The Union for Commercial Employees, the Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union, the Caretakers' Union and the Technical and Special Trades' Union intend to establish the new union in 2001 at the latest. it will be the second largest affiliate of the SAK confederation and the second largest trade union in Finland.
- 28 Dec 1998
Finland: 1998 Annual Review for Finland<#PDF_LINK>This record reviews 1998's main developments in industrial relations in Finland
- 28 Nov 1998
Finland: Stress symptoms increase among employees<#PDF_LINK>In autumn 1998, following several research reports indicating increased stress and a higher pace of work during the 1990s, Finnish trade unions have been focusing attention on employees' ability to cope. Employers deny that stress symptoms have increased solely due to more demanding work. In their view, people's whole lifestyles have become more hectic.
- 28 Nov 1998
Finland: Fixed-term contracts becoming widespread<#PDF_LINK>The proportion of Finnish employees on fixed-term contracts has increased and the phenomenon has become established in all employee groups in the 1990s, according to a survey by Statistics Finland published in autumn 1998.
- 28 Oct 1998
Finland: Employment Contracts Act reform runs into difficulties<#PDF_LINK>A tripartite committee with the task of reforming Finland's Employment Contracts Act did not succeed in making a proposal to the Government in autumn 1998, despite several deadline extensions. One aspect of the reform that has aroused disagreement will now be dealt with by state officials, which may indicate a chink in the tripartite cooperation process.
- 28 Oct 1998
Finland: Government bill extends flexibility provisions to unorganised employers<#PDF_LINK>In October 1998, the Finnish Government decided to present a bill on extending the provisions in "generally valid" collective agreements which allow flexibility - ie deviations from employment law - to cover employers who do not belong to employers' organisations. Trade unions consider this a serious attack on the prevailing policy of consensus and tripartite cooperation.
- 28 Oct 1998
Finland: SAK seeks improvement of private services<#PDF_LINK>In October 1998, the SAK trade union confederation's delegation for private sector services proposed measures aimed at improving Finland's service sector and creating jobs. These measures include changes in the tax structure.
- 28 Sep 1998
Finland: Complicated wage systems cause most problems in SMEs<#PDF_LINK>In spring 1998, Finland's TT employers' confederation commissioned a survey into problems relating to collective agreements in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to the results - published in August 1998 - wage structures and wage systems are too complicated and inflexible, while the terms of agreements at local level need to be clarified. However, Finland's centralised incomes policy agreements are considered to function well in SMEs.
- 28 Sep 1998
Finland: Employers suggest longer working time<#PDF_LINK>In the run-up to Finland's spring 1999 general election, the TT employers' organisation is rejecting trade union proposals for cuts in working time. Instead, it proposes that a lengthening of working hours should be considered.
- 28 Sep 1998
Finland: Local-level agreements require rules of the game<#PDF_LINK>"Rules of the game" are needed for the increasingly popular practice of concluding collective agreements at local level, according to the vice-chair of the SAK trade union confederation, speaking at a seminar in September 1998.
- 28 Aug 1998
Finland: Social partners mainly satisfied with government Budget<#PDF_LINK>The Finnish Government's Budget for 1999, which aims to balance public finances and start paying off the national debt, was published in August 1998. The social partners are mostly satisfied with the government guidelines.
- 28 Aug 1998
Finland: SAK claims Supreme Court plays increasingly political role<#PDF_LINK>In August 1998, a SAK department head expressed concern about recent controversial Supreme Court decisions, including one concerning the employer's liability to compensate in a case of illegal redundancy.
- 28 Aug 1998
Finland: SAK and STTK propose hours cuts as part of next government's programme<#PDF_LINK>Finland's SAK and STTK trade union confederations have been moving closer on the issue of working time. Both stated in August 1998 that a cut in the working week should be part of the next government's programme.
- 28 Jul 1998
Finland: Union survey suggests that a quarter of Estonians are willing to work in Finland<#PDF_LINK>In March 1998, Finland's SAK trade union confederation commissioned a survey, enquiring about the willingness of Estonians to move to Finland and their views on some labour market and industrial relations issues. According to the results - published in June - over a quarter of those interviewed would be at least "quite willing" to work in Finland. While SAK is worried about the implications for Finnish jobs, employers doubt whether Estonians are really willing to move to Finland for the sake of work.
- 28 Jul 1998
Finland: TT and STTK disagree sharply on working time<#PDF_LINK>Working time is probably the most burning labour market issue in Finland during summer 1998. A survey indicates that members of the STTK trade union confederation would be prepared to reduce their working time for the sake of promoting employment, even if this meant a diminished pay level, while the TT employers' organisation rejects the idea of any general cut in working time.
- 28 Jul 1998
Finland: Paid overtime increases by 6%<#PDF_LINK>In Finland, 6% more paid overtime was performed in 1997 than in the previous year. In addition, a remarkable proportion of higher-level white-collar workers in the private sector do overtime without compensation.
- 28 Jun 1998
Finland: Labour market reform facing stiff opposition<#PDF_LINK>In the search for a remedy for Finland's long-running mass unemployment, in mid-1998 the opposition Centre Party proposed a labour market reform with its ideological roots in the UK Labour Party. Trade unions are trying to resist the reform at an early stage, fearing that it will undermine the general validity of collective agreements, which is held sacred amongst the Finnish labour movement.
- 28 Jun 1998
Finland: Solution reached in Leonia redundancies dispute<#PDF_LINK>An industrial dispute over "rationalisation" plans at Finland's Leonia bank was called off in June 1998, when the parties reached a solution which should halve result the planned number of forthcoming redundancies.
- 28 Jun 1998
Finland: Social partners publish joint report on working time<#PDF_LINK>In June 1998, Finland's social partners published a joint report on working time. The report makes no statement on the issue of cutting working hours.
- 28 May 1998
Finland: Finnish response to the EU Employment Guidelines<#PDF_LINK>Finland published its National Action Plan on employment, in response to the EU Employment Guidelines, in April 1998. The tight time constraints for preparing the Plan aroused criticism from the social partners, who were involved in its preparation. Despite this, the trade unions seem to be quite satisfied with the results. Employers would have stressed more the effectiveness of the measures than quantitative goals.
- 28 May 1998
Finland: Unions disagree on reductions in working hours<#PDF_LINK>STTK, Finland's white-collar workers' trade union confederation, proposed in May 1998 that a "Finnish model" for reducing working time should be created before 2000. Other union organisations have greeted this idea with scepticism.
- 28 May 1998
Finland: Mass redundancies in Leonia finance group<#PDF_LINK>Finland's mainly state-owned Leonia finance group gave notice in spring 1998 of massive reorganisation involving large-scale redundancies. Employees are vigorously opposed to the dismissals, which are now under negotiation in the works council. If a solution cannot be reached, the dispute will escalate into a widespread boycott.
- 28 Apr 1998
Finland: Share options for executives provoke wage earners<#PDF_LINK>Finnish wage earners have accepted a moderate wage increase in the 1998-2000 incomes policy agreement. This moderation was justified by the argument that it would help guarantee stable growth and improve the employment situation. At the same time, however, Finnish executives are being rewarded with share options worth millions of FIM during the current intense economic upswing, resulting in resentment amongst the labour movement.
- 28 Apr 1998
Finland: SAK takes a reserved position on the MAI agreement<#PDF_LINK>Finland's SAK trade union confederation has expressed its concern about the progress and effects of the negotiations on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which have been suspended until October 1998. SAK demands that guarantees on the basic rights of workers as well as a ban on social and environmental dumping should be included.
- 28 Apr 1998
Finland: Teachers laid off in municipalities<#PDF_LINK>As a result of the bad economic situation in Finland's municipalities, teachers are being temporarily laid off in spring 1998. The OAJ teachers' trade union is placing the blame for the lay-offs on the municipalities, which in turn are blaming the OAJ, because it has not accepted agreements on cost savings, and the state, because of cuts in government subsidies.
- 28 Mar 1998
Finland: Local bargaining on flexible hours increasing<#PDF_LINK>Local agreements on working time are on the increase in Finland, as market forces put severe pressure on the social partners to decentralise the negotiation mechanism. This article reviews the situation in early 1998.
- 28 Mar 1998
Finland: National programme for older workers launched<#PDF_LINK>Finland's national programme for older workers started in March 1998, bringing together various Ministries, municipalities, expert organisations and the social partners. The programme focuses on people over 45 years of age and aims to change the attitudes of employers and employees by spreading the latest, research-based information on the factors that influence older workers' employability, ability to work and working conditions.
- 28 Mar 1998
Finland: Continued cuts in bank staff<#PDF_LINK>Finnish banks experienced a severe crisis of profitability during the recession at the beginning of the 1990s. In 1997, the number of employees had been cut by half compared with the peak in the late 1980s, and the cuts are continuing in early 1998 at the same time as "internationalisation" is proceeding.
- 28 Feb 1998
Finland: Contracting-out leads to public transport strike<#PDF_LINK>Public transport employees went on strike in Helsinki on 2-8 February 1998 in a dispute arising from the contracting-out of public services. The sector's social partners reached an agreement after the confederations - SAK for the unions and and TT for the employers - joined in the negotiations. The dispute highlights Finnish employees' fear of new procedures and "internationalisation" of the labour market.
- 28 Feb 1998
Finland: Doctors reach agreement in line with EU working time Directive<#PDF_LINK>A collective agreement for Finnish doctors was signed on 28 February 1998, taking into account the application of the 1993 EU Directive on working time to their work. As a result, pay will increase by FIM 1,400 per month, and weekly working time by 1.25 hours.
- 28 Feb 1998
Finland: Lawyers approve the incomes policy agreement<#PDF_LINK>On 3 February 1998, the Association of Finnish Lawyers approved an agreement following the guidelines of the new national incomes policy agreement. In connection with the reform of the pay system, the VTML employers' body promised to pay attention to the special problems of court lawyers and associate lawyers.
- 28 Feb 1998
Finland: Firefighters' strike ends<#PDF_LINK>The firefighters' strike, which had lasted for over three months, ended in February 1998 after both parties approved a conciliation proposal from the state conciliator. The strike is generally considered not to have achieved any special benefits for the strikers.
- 28 Jan 1998
Finland: Second incomes policy agreement for employment is signed<#PDF_LINK>In December 1997, the Finnish social partners signed an incomes policy agreement for the period from January 1998 to January 2000. The agreement - which is probably one of the most comprehensive in Finnish history, covering over 98% of wage-earners - provides for pay increases which will raise average labour costs by about 2.6% in 1998 and 1.7% in 1999.
- 28 Jan 1998
Finland: The Finnish Ship's Officers Union stays outside the incomes policy agreement<#PDF_LINK>The Finnish Ship's Officers Union has not approved the country's new central incomes policy agreement, which was signed on 12 December 1997 by STTK, the confederation to which it belongs. According to the union, the reason for its refusal is an imbalance in pay between crew and officers, which need to be adjusted.
- 28 Jan 1998
Finland: Lawyers reject incomes policy agreement<#PDF_LINK>The Association of Finnish Lawyers has rejected the new national incomes policy agreement, which was approved by AKAVA, the confederation to which it belongs, on 12 December 1997. The Association believes that pay for state lawyers is well below that for equal work in the private sector