Employers block national deal on pay and conditions

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK) and the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland (Akava) are all convinced that a solution favourable to employment and growth could have emerged in time for the debate on government spending limits if all parties had shown a genuine desire to negotiate and find such an accord.

These organisations feel that the mentality of the employers during preliminary negotiations was well illustrated in the efforts of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) to make the Finnish government meet the cost of pay increases. The bill for financing the cuts in earnings-related pension contributions sought by EK would eventually have been paid by employees and young people.

The employee organisations were unwilling to renegotiate previously agreed earnings-related pension contribution rates, as this would have jeopardised future pensions. It is essential to collect pension contributions from the age groups that are currently working.

The national employee confederations have repeatedly stressed the need for moderate general wage rises due to the need to maintain consumer purchasing power in the national economy, even during a recession.

Reversing the downward trend in employment remains a key objective of the employee confederations.
The refusal by EK to reach a comprehensive national pay settlement probably means that separate collective bargaining rounds will now take place in various industries.

The benefits of a general labour market settlement in terms of stability and freedom from industrial strife evidently carried too little weight in the mindset of EK, and the Presidents of the national employee confederations feel that their organisations have so far been left to take up the slack in working to rescue the Finnish economy.