Agreement ends air traffic controllers' strike

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In March 1999, after five weeks on strike, Finnish air traffic controllers accepted an agreement which will increase their wages by nearly 13% over three years.

The five-week-long air traffic controllers' strike (FI9902194F) ended in March 1999. A new collective agreement was reached, under which the controllers relinquished their demands for a pay increase of about 30% over three years and accepted nearly 13% over the same period. The increase means a monthly rise of about FIM 2000 in basic salaries. The present working hours are retained in the agreement, with operational working time set at 98 hours per three-week period - an average of around 32.5 hours per week.

The agreement was signed by the Finnish Air Traffic Controllers' Association (Suomen Lennonjohtajien Yhdistys, SLJY) and the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) in Finland (Ilmailulaitos), an affiliate of the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (Teollisuuden ja Työnantajain Keskusliitto, TT). The manager of CAA, Erkki Pitkänen, considered the agreement satisfactory, even if it was expensive compared with other agreements.

The chair of SLJY, Sakari Jämsä, admitted that the controllers had clearly fallen short of their original goals, but was satisfied with the agreement "under the circumstances" - apparently referring to the pressure experienced from the public when the industrial action was condemned widely as an unacceptable strike by a key group. After the resolution of the dispute, he reckoned that Finnish controllers might try to find work abroad. Indeed, 35 controllers issued a joint advertisement of their availability. However, as the advertisement had been submitted already before the end of the strike, it was not considered a protest against the agreement concluded.

The strike had precipitated a wide debate of principle about limiting the right to strike. TT has demanded that the "rules of the game" be developed so that compulsory conciliation could become possible in Finland. According to the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö, SAK), the conclusion of the air traffic dispute in a "normal" way showed that the conciliation system works and that there is no need for restrictions of any sort. The issue of compulsory conciliation in disputes was also raised in the negotiations over the formation of the new coalition government, but was not included in the new government's programme, presented in April 1999 (FI9904101F).