The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK suddenly reversed its position on the issue of earnings-related unemployment benefits. Up until now it has supported the existing system whereby the benefits are paid through the unemployment funds. Since the year 1895, these funds have been mainly administered by the trade unions.
Restrictions and recommendations due to the coronavirus and the summer affects the opening hours at the JHL Central Office and the Regional Offices. The Employment Advice, the Membership Services and the Education services is at service even though the Central Office is closed. The Unemployment Fund will be open the whole summer.
The Finnish Government is planning to extend the obligatory use of personal taxation numbers to those working in the shipyards. On commencement of work, those employed there should have their own personal taxation numbers.
All parties to the local government collective agreement accepted the deal on Thursday 28 May. The long and difficult negotiation marathon has finally reached an outcome with a new agreement in place.
The latest attempt to reach a deal in the local government collective agreement failed. Just before 1 May, two unions turned down the proposal put forward by the National Conciliator, whereas other unions involved would have accepted it.
The Finnish state owned alcoholic beverages retail monopoly Alko has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Service Union United PAM and the global union IUF to promote respect for worker rights in the company's international supply chain.
The long time court case between the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union and Polish company Elektrobudowa SA ended in March with an out-of-court settlement.
Conciliation did not help bring about a local government collective agreement. The existing agreement expired at the end of March, but there has been no major progress in the negotiations so far.
A new collective agreement for the state sector came into effect at the beginning of April.
Redundancies and temporary lay-offs due to the coronavirus pandemic are rising at an alarming pace.
The process involving temporarily lay-offs should be provisionally conducted swiftly in private companies, the Finnish labour market organisations are proposing.
The Coronavirus pandemic is having an effect on the ongoing collective bargaining round, too. Agreements in industry and private services are more or less ready or approaching a decision, but very much open in the public services.
There is clear evidence that the income gap between employees and publicly listed company chief executives has widened significantly in the past year. Now, a private sector employee must work for 47 days to earn what a major listed company CEO earns in a day. A year before, it took 34 days' work.
By now, most of the industry sectors have agreed upon new collective agreements. For example, the Industrial Union announced on 24 February that they have reached a resolution in negotiations for all of their collective agreements in the technology sector.
Unpaid work will now end in the mechanical forestry industry also, the Industrial Union says. The new collective agreement for sawmills and plywood factories drops the notorious 24 annual unpaid working hours, which was effectively steamrolled into collective agreements in 2016 by Finland's then right-wing Government.
The press journalists' new collective agreement follows the general line of pay rises and ditching of the 24 unpaid extra working hours included in the old agreement.
Just a day before a strike was due to start in the facilities services, the Service Union United PAM reached agreement on a new collective agreement in the sector on 17 February.
Three major collective agreement conflicts have ended in agreement. Now there are collective agreements in the chemical and paper industry and for white-collar employees in the technology industry. The pay rise approximates 3.3 per cent generally and with 25 month agreements.
The long and complicated electricians strike took a step towards a solution. The Board of the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union accepted on 30 January company level agreements with Konecranes and Valmet Automotive.
A new series of industrial action is set to begin from Monday 27 January onwards. The Industrial Union and Trade Union Pro have announced strikes in the mechanical forestry industry and energy sector. The paper industry is also heading towards a strike.
The PM Sipilä right-wing Government drastic actions in the labour market some years ago casts a long and dark shadow today over this year’s collective bargaining round.
After several months of negotiations the new collective agreement for the technology industry was accepted on Saturday 4 January. It will bring a 3.3 per cent pay increase and the agreement is for 25 months.
The long struggle concerning terms of work in the City of Turku owned food and janitorial services company Arkea were finally resolved at the beginning of December.
The Industrial Union has announced a strike from 9 to 11 December. It will cover 35,000 employees from the technology, chemical, wood product and special branches sectors.