Employers delay start of incomes policy talks

The Confederation of Finnish Industries - EK, which represents Finnish employers, announced on Thursday October 6th that negotiations for a central collective bargaining agreement cannot begin unless the employee representatives alter their objectives. However, the employers have not specified which changes they are referring to. The EK has not, however, completely ruled out the possibility of collective bargaining talks.

The employee confederations are astonished at the employers&#;8217 unwillingness to begin negotiations and at their eagerness to interfere with objectives even before the talks have started. The EK was founded only this year through the amalgamation of the previous organisations which represented industrial and service sector employers. The stance it has now indicated has been interpreted as a desire by the new organisation to change the established bargaining system in Finland.

All three employee confederations - SAK, STTK and AKAVA - announced at the beginning of this week that they are ready, for their part, to begin incomes policy negotiations with the employers. SAK chairman Lauri Ihalainen, however, has said that objectives can only be discussed at the negotiating table and not beforehand.

The Finnish government has stated that it is ready to lower income tax if a centralised collective bargaining agreement is reached in this country.