Finland
Background information on industrial relations in Finland
- 05 Dec 2001
Finland: Social partners agree pension and unemployment insurance reforms<#PDF_LINK>In November 2001, the Finnish social partners, pension institutions and government agreed a set of pension and unemployment insurance reforms. On pensions, it remains unclear whether entitlement will in future be calculated on the basis of a person's last 10 years of employment or their whole career. Unemployment benefits will be increased or cut depending on the age and work history of the employee.
- 03 Dec 2001
Finland: Nordic seminar highlights equal opportunities from men's perspective<#PDF_LINK>On 27-28 October 2001, the Nordic Council of Ministers organised a seminar in Copenhagen, intended for politicians, social partners and researchers, in order to review men's opportunities and obstacles in the development of equality in working life. The main message was to highlight men's equal opportunities in terms of reconciliation of work and family life.
- 07 Nov 2001
Finland: Committee proposes increasing paternity leave by one week<#PDF_LINK>A tripartite working group considering reforms to the Finnish parental leave system suggested in November 2001 that paternity leave should be lengthened from 18 to 25 days. The proposal has aroused mixed reactions among the social partners.
- 17 Oct 2001
Finland: Sonera job cuts halved<#PDF_LINK>In October 2001, Sonera, the Finnish telecommunications operator, announced, as a result of cooperation talks with workers' representatives, that the number of employees affected by its planned job cuts will be reduced from 1,000 to 500. The TLL communication workers' trade union does not accept the outcome of the talks, and is calling for the job losses to be further decreased through redeployment.
- 10 Oct 2001
Finland: Social partners debate pension and unemployment benefit reforms<#PDF_LINK>In September 2001, the Finnish social partners debated a number of proposed pension and unemployment benefit reforms, which are at present being examined in tripartite working groups. The trade unions consider that benefits should be left untouched, while the employers would like to introduce a decreasing system of unemployment benefit and abolish completely some types of pension. Meanwhile, the social partners have criticised a recent European Commission Communication on EU coordination on pensions as an interference with national pension schemes.
- 10 Oct 2001
Finland: Strike against proposed port services Directive<#PDF_LINK>On 25 September 2001, the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (AKT) participated in a Europe-wide dockworkers' day of action, by organising a two-hour work stoppage. The action was in protest over a proposed EU Directive on market access to port services, which as well as opening up competition would permit ship's crews to perform work hitherto done by dockers.
- 11 Sep 2001
Finland: Union bans overtime in response to job cuts at Sonera<#PDF_LINK>Sonera, the Finnish telecommunications operator, has announced that it will reduce its workforce by 10% (or 1,000 employees). In September 2001, TLL, the union representing clerical employees at Sonera, banned overtime work by its members at the company in a move aimed at revealing that there is not really a surplus of 1,000 staff at the firm.
- 07 Sep 2001
Finland: Sonera announces major job cuts<#PDF_LINK>In August 2001, the Finnish telecommunications operator Sonera - of which the government is the main shareholder - announced that it would cut its workforce by 10%, to the shock of its employees. The job cuts are seen as reflecting a crisis in the whole sector, arising the recent auction by many European governments of expensive 'third-generation'mobile telecommunications licences
- 06 Sep 2001
Finland: No charges brought against Finnish managers in Fujitsu-Siemens case<#PDF_LINK>In August 2001, the Finnish public prosecutor decided not to bring charges against the Finnish managers of Fujitsu-Siemens concerning intentional or negligent violation of the Cooperation Act's provisions on negotiations with workers' representatives. He could not find enough evidence that they could have known of the group management's aims to close down a computer factory in Finland before the personnel were informed of the decision in December 1999. Even though the criminal proceedings have now failed, a civil action brought by trade unions will still continue in court.
- 28 Aug 2001
Finland: Conciliation board to settle the doctors' strike<#PDF_LINK>In July 2001, the parties involved in the Finnish doctors' strike, which had run for a record 19 weeks, decided to establish a separate conciliation board to seek a resolution to the dispute over pay and working conditions. The strike was interrupted for three weeks to give the board time to make a proposal acceptable to both sides.
- 28 Aug 2001
Finland: Doctors' strike ends<#PDF_LINK>On 17 August 2001, the Finnish Medical Association and the Commission for Local Authority Employers signed a new collective agreement, which brought to an end after 20 weeks a strike by doctors. The strike had been Finland's longest. The two-year deal will increase labour costs by 10.5%, which the employers consider expensive. The doctors believe that the way has now been opened for a total reform of Finnish healthcare.
- 28 Aug 2001
Finland: Doctors' strike may have impact on industrial relations system<#PDF_LINK>A lengthy doctors' strike, which ended in August 2001, has highlighted the problems of employees in the Finnish public sector. The basic services of the country's welfare state have been provided by the public sector, but the doctors' strike is an indication of a possible turning-point which may lead to weakening of public services and more private sector provision. The doctors' wage increase of 10.5% over two years - double that awarded to other employees by the 2001-2 central incomes policy agreement - will possibly also have an effect on the Finnish industrial relations system as a whole. Elokuussa 2001 päättynyt lääkärilakko on nostanut esiin koko julkisen sektorin palkansaajien ongelmat. Suomalaisen hyvinvointivaltion peruspalvelut on tuotettu julkisella sektorilla mutta lääkärilakko on osoituksena mahdollisesta murroksesta, joka johtaa julkisten palveluiden heikkenemiseen ja niiden tuottamiseen enemmän vapailla markkinoilla. Lääkäreiden saamilla 10.5%:n palkankorotuksilla on oletettavasti vaikutusta myös suomalaiseen, solidaariseen työmarkkinajärjestelmään.
- 28 Jul 2001
Finland: Women gaining more leadership positions in unions<#PDF_LINK>In June 2001, for the first time, a woman was chosen to lead Finland's largest trade union, the municipal workers' KTV. Women have also gained more of a foothold recently in the higher echelons of some other unions. However, female union presidents are usually in charge of unions representing low-paid workers, whereas the unions representing the most strategically important export sectors are often led by men.
- 28 Jul 2001
Finland: New Employment Contracts Act in force<#PDF_LINK>In June 2001, a new Employment Contracts Act came into force in Finland. The Act, over 30 years old, has been reformed in its entirety. The main aims of the new Act are to improve the position of fixed-term and part-time employees, to define more precisely the system of "general validity" of collective agreements, and to clarify provisions concerning employment security.
- 28 Jul 2001
Finland: 2001 NAP focuses on growth and employment<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, the Finnish National Action Plan (NAP) for employment was published. It focuses on bolstering economic growth and employment. The social partners are mainly satisfied with the preparation process and the results.
- 28 Jun 2001
Finland: Government grants new wage subsidies for shipping<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, the Finnish government decided, after lengthy uncertainty, to grant new subsidies for passenger shipping, in the form of cuts in taxation and social security contributions on seafarers' wages. The initial reaction of trade unions and ship-owners was disappointment, because such tax and social security contributions have not been fully abolished. Ship-owners still envisage possible "outflagging" of ships to other countries' registers in order to cut labour costs.
- 28 Jun 2001
Finland: White-collar unions merge<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, four trade unions affiliated to Finland's STTK white-collar confederation merged to form the Union of Salaried Employees (TU). With 130,000 members, TU is the country's fourth largest union.
- 28 Jun 2001
Finland: SAK holds five-yearly national congress<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) held its five-yearly congress. The congress brought few surprises and long-standing president Lauri Ihalainen was re-elected. Topics of discussion included the challenges of globalisation and future policy orientations. The Finnish President and the Prime Minister attended the congress, a mark of SAK's good relations with the state authorities. Many international trade union representatives also attended, underlining interest in cooperation across national borders.
- 28 Jun 2001
Finland: Act on Protection of Privacy in Working Life adopted<#PDF_LINK>In June 2001, Finland adopted a new Act on Protection of Privacy in Working Life, regulating issues such as the testing of employees, the handling of information concerning their health, and rules on monitoring the workforce. A basic principle is that the employer is permitted to collect only information relevant to the employment relationship. The legislation should come into force in October 2001.
- 28 May 2001
Finland: Social partners take stand on EU enlargement<#PDF_LINK>In April 2001, all Finland's main social partners submitted to the Prime Minister a statement concerning enlargement of the EU. They call for the transition period for the introduction of free movement of labour within the enlarged EU to be flexible. The statement also stresses that Finnish terms of employment must be applied to employees from candidate countries who work in Finland, and that free movementr of labour should not mean importing cheap foreign labour.
- 28 May 2001
Finland: Shipping subsidies under debate as job losses loom<#PDF_LINK>In May 2001, the Finnish government was considering a new subsidy for the country's passenger shipping, in the form of the abolition of tax and social security contributions on seafarers' wages. The government is under pressure to introduce this measure - which is demanded by the sector's social partners - because subsidies are already in use in many EU countries following a 1997 European Commission decision to allow them. If the government does not grant the subsidy, the shipowners will "outflag" their vessels to other countries' registers and then be able to hire cheaper labour, with the trade unions powerless in the face of this threat.
- 28 Apr 2001
Finland: Unions reject plans for pensions reform<#PDF_LINK>In April 2001, the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health published proposals for the gradual abolition of unemployment pensions (allowing early retirement for long-term unemployed people) and of individual early retirement pensions. The plans have aroused strong opposition from trade unions.
- 28 Mar 2001
Finland: Female-dominated public sector groups join incomes policy agreement<#PDF_LINK>A number of Finnish trade unions representing public sector occupations dominated by women employees - such as kindergarten teachers and social workers - did not initially sign up to the country's two-year central incomes policy agreement concluded in December 2000. Some threatened strike action in order to obtain additional pay increases. However, in January 2001, these groups signed up to agreements providing for the same increases as other workers - 3.1% for 2001 and 2.3% for 2002.
- 28 Mar 2001
Finland: Doctors take strike action<#PDF_LINK>The Finnish Medical Association launched a strike on 12 March 2001, with doctors in municipal hospitals and health centres involved in rolling industrial action. The main issue at stake is pay, with the municipal authorities offering an wage increase of 5.5%, and doctors demanding a rise of 20%. The background to the strike is a continuing crisis in Finnish public healthcare.
- 28 Feb 2001
Finland: Doctors' union issues strike warning<#PDF_LINK>In February 2001, the Finnish Medical Association (SLL) issued a strike warning for March, having failed to conclude a new collective agreement with the Commission for Local Authority Employers (KT). SLL is seeking a 20% pay increase and improved working conditions.
- 28 Feb 2001
Finland: Redundant employees sue Fujitsu Siemens<#PDF_LINK>The redundant employees of the Fujitsu Siemens plant located in Kilo, Finland, which was closed in 2000, brought legal proceedings against the company in February 2001. The employees are demanding compensation totalling some FIM 50 million for possible violation of the Finnish Cooperation Act's rules on negotiations over measures affecting personnel.
- 28 Jan 2001
Finland: Merger forms Finland's second-largest union<#PDF_LINK>In November 2000, four Finnish trade unions in the services sector merged to form Service Unions United. With over 200,000 members, it is the country's second-largest union after the Trade Union for the Municipal Sector.
- 28 Jan 2001
Finland: Increase in atypical work weakens employees' motivation<#PDF_LINK>In January 2001, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) published the findings of a survey investigating the views and work situation of its members. The results show a significant increase in "atypical" employment contracts. The effects of this development are found to include a lower commitment to company goals among fixed-term and part-time employees than among permanent, full-time employees.
- 28 Jan 2001
Finland: PT criticises new incomes policy agreement<#PDF_LINK>In January 2001, the Employers' Confederation of Service Industries (PT) published an economic and employment survey, which concludes that the demand for service sector employment is taking a downward turn. The organisation criticises the new national incomes policy agreement for 2001-2 as being too solidarity-oriented and thus making it harder for employers to recruit labour. As a solution, PT proposes changing the incomes policy structures to achieve more flexibility.
- 28 Jan 2001
Finland: Strike closes cargo ports<#PDF_LINK>On 22 January 2001, Finnish cargo ports were hit by a strike called by the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Työntekijäliitto, AKT), in a dispute over redundancies among dockers at the Steveco port operating company. After one day of strike action, a settlement was reached through conciliation, whereby the pay of the redundant workers was guaranteed for 12 months. In addition, AKT has agreed to sign up to the national incomes policy agreement for the next two years.