Finland
Background information on industrial relations in Finland
- 23 Dec 2010
Finland: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Metal sector – FinlandThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the metal sector in Finland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 13 Dec 2010
Finland: Autumn 2010 collective bargaining roundNew collective agreements for about 300,000 employees have been made so far this autumn in Finland. In line with the Confederation of Finnish Industries’ guidelines, the average general wage increase has been 1% and the average validity of the agreements is one year and three months. All include a company-specific increment that can be used to reward earnings performance, competence or work performance, as well as to adjust wage structures within enterprises.
- 13 Dec 2010
Finland: Tripartite programme to secure employment and sustainable economic growthThe tripartite programme for securing employment and economic growth published by the Finnish government and labour market organisations in October 2010 aims to improve working life and extends the scope of discussions on the statutory retirement age to also cover length of working life. Social partners described the results of the tripartite working groups as historical and highlighted the functioning of Finnish tripartism as exceptional in the European context.
- 02 Sep 2010
Finland: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Inland water transport – FinlandThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the inland water transport industry in Finland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 07 Jun 2010
Finland: Finland – Developments in social partner organisations: employer organisationsThere are five national peak employer organisations in Finland and one organisation for small and mediun size enterprises. The most notable change since 2003 is the merger of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (Teollisuuden ja Työnantajain Keskusliitto, TT) and the Employers’ Federation of Service Industries (Palvelutyönantajat, PT) into the Confederation of Finnish Industries (Elinkeinoelämän keskusliitto, EK). The central (Valtion työmarkkinalaitos, VTML) and local (Kunnallinen työmarkkinalaitos, KT) government sector have own employer organisations. The Church Employers (Kirkon työmarkkinalaitos, KiT) represent the Lutheran Church of Finland as an employe, and the Federation of Agricultural Employers (Maaseudun Työnantajaliitto, MTL) negotiates collective agreements for 12,000 workers in the agricultural sector.
- 28 May 2010
Finland: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Catering sector – FinlandThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the contract catering sector in Finland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 14 May 2010
Finland: Trade union strategies to recruit new groups of workers – FinlandTrade union density has decreased since the peak years of the 1990s, and currently stands at 74%. One of the reasons for the decline is an independent unemployment fund, which competes with the trade union unemployment insurance funds. The confederations have launched recruitment campaigns, focusing on four challenging areas: young people, fixed-term employees, migrants and new occupational groups in information and communication technology (ICT).
- 27 Apr 2010
Finland: Addressing the gender pay gap: Government and social partner actions – FinlandOn average, women’s pay based on regular working hours is about 19% less than men’s in 2008. The difference is €583/month. From the different government platforms and equality programmes, it can be seen that the agenda of gender equality has remained quite similar between 1997 and 2008. Policy has been concentrated on the disadvantages of women’s labour market position and the widening of women’s career possibilities. However, the concrete achievements of the equality policy have been quite very limited.
- 19 Apr 2010
Finland: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Footwear industry – FinlandThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the footwear industry in Finland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.
- 16 Mar 2010
Finland: Two tripartite working groups draft retirement reformsLast spring, the Finnish government appointed two tripartite working groups to make proposals for pension system reforms. A key target has been to strike a deal between trade unions and employers on ways to lengthen employees’ career and working life. The working group tasked with proposing overall improvements in working life reached an agreement. However, the other working group, involved in raising the retirement age, failed to generate clear results.
- 19 Feb 2010
Finland: Finland: EIRO annual review — 2008Year 2008 was quite stable concerning industrial relations. The bulk of collective agreements took place in autumn 2007 offering relatively high pay increases. The most important new collective agreement regarded workers in the paper industry for the period 1 June 2008 - 31 March 2010. The number of working days lost by industrial actions was substantially lower than in previous years. The impact of global recession came to Finland in late autumn. At the end of November 2008, the number of laid-off employees totalled 12,500, which was three times more than the previous month.
- 17 Feb 2010
Finland: Former national conciliator called to resolve airport outsourcing disputeFormer national conciliator Juhani Salonius was requested to lead a working group in an attempt to resolve the dispute between the Finnish Aviation Union and the new staff services company Barona and RTG Ground Handling. In November 2009, Finland’s national carrier Finnair sold baggage handling operations to Barona despite employee and trade union objections. This move sparked staff walkouts and baggage backlog chaos. By mid January 2010, the parties reached a settlement.
- 17 Feb 2010
Finland: New trade union federation merges just two unionsIn January 2010, the new trade union organisation TEAM was formed, following a merger between two unions affiliated to the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK). Originally, it was planned that six unions in industry would form the merger – however, SAK’s ambitious merger plans were not realised in the end. Nevertheless, SAK’s president believes that more trade unions will join TEAM as time goes on.
- 10 Feb 2010
Finland: Finland: Individual disputes at the workplace – alternative disputes resolutionThe use of ADR is quite a new phenomenon in Finnish working life, but its significance is increasing. The Finnish Forum for Mediation was established in 2003. There is no official statistics about the number of conciliators or the cases of ADR. However, it is estimated that some 30 persons are working as ADR-conciliators. The main categories are bullying and inappropriate management. At the moment social partners have created a joint committee which is examining the use of ADR in Finnish working life.
- 26 Jan 2010
Finland: Slow progress in negotiations on new collective agreementsNegotiations for new collective agreements have progressed slowly, with industrial action arising in a number of sectors. During sectoral-level collective bargaining, the main labour market confederations focused on economic policy seeking to promote employment. However, the Confederation of Finnish Industries announced that it had broken off negotiations on a framework for pay increases after the confederation-level negotiations were made public.
- 21 Jan 2010
Finland: Finland: Representativeness of the European social partners – Personal services sector - 19 Jan 2010
Finland: Employers and trade unions disagree over age of retirementThe Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) has proposed that the standard age of retirement should be raised to 67 years. This proposal has sparked anger among trade unions, which are warning that the country could face a ‘pension war’ if employers try to raise the retirement age. EK argues that an effective strategy to extend working life should involve a quicker transition from education to the labour market, promote well-being at work and reform the pension scheme.
- 19 Jan 2010
Finland: National wage negotiations at a standstillAfter the new collective agreement in the technology industry that opened the 2009 bargaining round, little progress has been made on wage negotiations. Trade unions seem to be awaiting signs concerning the direction of the economy. The employer side has offered a so-called ‘wage anchor’ model on the basis of the collective agreement in the technology field. However, trade unions have rejected this proposal, as the pay increases in 2010 and 2011 were not decided.
- 18 Jan 2010
Finland: Mixed reaction from unions to tax freeze in exchange for wage moderationThe proposal of the Ministry of Finance not to raise income tax if trade unions accept moderate pay increases has gained conditional support from the trade union confederations. However, trade unions representing the public sector have not been enthusiastic about the offer. Some unions have expressed scepticism about whether the employer organisations will agree to any pay increases, while others have criticised the finance minister’s proposal as being insufficient.
- 12 Jan 2010
Finland: Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Civil aviation – FinlandThe aim of this representativeness study is to identify the respective national and supranational actors (i.e. trade unions and employer organisations) in the field of industrial relations in the civil aviation industry in Finland. In order to determine their relative importance in the sector’s industrial relations, this study will, in particular, focus on their representational quality as well as on their role in collective bargaining.