Current situation in the Finnish Labour Market 9.3.2010

The new round of negotiations began in August 2009, when new collective agreements were made for workers and senior salaried employees in the technology industry. Since then nearly 70 new agreements have been made in the private sector, covering almost half of the one million wage earners among EK member companies.

The current round of negotiations will continue until spring 2010, when the collective agreements for over half a million wage earners expire.

In the public sector new agreements have been made for municipalities as well as for the Government. 

Modest wage increases

As a result of the economic crisis, only modest increases have been made in the wage packages of the new collective agreements. The incentive impact of these increases has generally been 0.5 percent a year.

The wage settlements vary to some degree in different branches, for example in terms of the structure and timing of wage increases. In some branches, including seafaring, no new wage increases have been agreed upon.

The time span for new collective agreements is relatively long, the average being almost 2.5 years. Due to the economic recession and difficulty of forecasting, the actual wage settlements have been made for a shorter period, on average for 11 – 12 months.

The new labour agreements now include flexible working time arrangements and the possibility of agreeing on the workplace level within many branches.

The new collective agreement for the municipal sector, which is valid from 1 February 2010 to 31 December 2011, exceeds the wage increases for the private sector. That was also the case in the previous negotiating round in 2007–2008. Also the state settlement from 1 March 2010 to 29 February 2012 is giving slightly higher wage increases than most agreements in the private sector. 

Open clauses in many agreements

It marks a significant moment in Finnish labour history that for the first time so many branches subject to the agreements have the possibility to delay wage increases, pay less than was agreed or not implement the increases at all if the financial situation of the company so demands. The procedures for this kind of open clauses must be agreed on the company level. This is a feature of the agreements for the technology industry and mechanical forest industry, for example.

Wage increases in Finland are usually agreed as general increases in euros or as a percentage. However, in the 2007–2008 negotiating round a considerable share of new wage increases, on average just over a third, were agreed as company- or workplace specific allocations to be agreed locally as internal decisions of the companies.

In the new wage settlements made since summer 2009 already over half of all employees are covered by company-specific wage increases. This has also been in accordance with the goals of EK and its member associations.

Many strikes in spite of economic recession

Despite the challenging economic situation facing companies and branches, the labour market has been subject to a certain number of labour disputes. Strikes have been carried out in the banking sector and among salaried employees within the technology industry.

Strikes have threatened the transportation sector throughout March. A strike in vehicle traffic and transportation lasted from 2nd to 3rd March. On Thursday 4 March 2010, the Finnish Transport Workers’ Union AKT declared a strike among its stevedores.

Once the spring negotiating round is concluded in April-May, many branches will immediately begin negotiations concerning wage settlements for autumn 2010.

See also

• Current situation in the Finnish labour market, images (pdf, 224 kb)