x
Tripartite negotiations for centralised incomes policy bargaining began on Wednesday, 4th
of October, in Helsinki. Each of the trade union central organisations, along with all the
central organisations of the employers' federations, participated in the opening meeting
as did Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen. The participants stated that a wide-ranging incomes
policy solution for a minimum duration of two years was the prime aim for everyone
involved.The next meeting of this large tripartite
negotiating body is due to take place in late October, and prior to this, proposals for
the terms of the centralised agreement will be deliberated by the leaders of the central
organisations. It is hoped that a centralised incomes policy solution will be reached by
early November, as this would leave both the trade unions and the employers' federations
some time to adapt the centralised agreement to each separate sector of industry. The
signing of the incomes policy agreement has been scheduled for early December.
The employee side has not, to date, specified the pay
increases which they will be seeking. The employers have already emphasised the need for
an agreement on moderate pay increases, and at the present moment they appear to be
looking for rises of some 1%. The employers are eager to remind the employee side that,
next year, there will still be some rollover pay rises to come, which will be awarded on
the basis of earlier agreements, and that these alone will amount to 2 or 3%. The
employers however want to reserve some part of any pay increases to be agreed upon at a
company level.
The employers have also further defined their demands. The
Employers' Confederation of Service Industries, PT, is seeking an agreement which would
stay in force until the autumn of 2003. However, it is unlikely that they will succeed in
this as the largest trade union central organisation in Finland, SAK, has set a period of
two years for this agreement. SAK may encounter difficulties in its attempts to have the
centralised agreement accepted by all of the unions, due to the fact that some sectors of
industry already have in place their own collective agreements on terms of employment and
these will remain in force for several years to come. The Paperworkers' Union, for
example, intends to negotiate on future pay rises on the basis of its existing agreement,
which will remain in force until the end of January 2003.
The employers of the manufacturing and service sectors are
opposed to any reductions in working time. SAK has demanded that the annual working time
will be reduced by one working day, so that the Saturday immediately following Ascension
Day will become a non-working day.
Leena Seretin |
