Riku Aalto, the chairperson of the Finnish Industrial Union, and Jarkko Ruohoniemi, the chairperson of the Technology Industry Employers of Finland, spoke to reporters at the office of the national conciliator in Helsinki on Sunday, 9 February 2025. The Industrial Union rejected a proposal that would have hiked up wages in the technology industry by a total of seven per cent over three years, a proposal that had been accepted by Technology Industry Employers. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)
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AN AGREEMENT has continued to evade negotiators seeking an agreement on the terms and conditions of employment in the technology industry.
The Finnish Industrial Union on Sunday reported that its board of directors has unanimously rejected the latest settlement proposal presented by the national conciliator on grounds that it would not have done enough to restore the purchasing power of employees.
National Conciliator Anu Sajavaara revealed that the proposal would have hiked up wages in the industry by a total of seven per cent over the three-year term – by 2.0 per cent in year one and by 2.5 per cent in years two and three. She stated that toward the end of the negotiations employers were offering annual pay rises of 1.0–1.9 per cent, while employees were calling for ones of 3.0–3.9 per cent.
“The level of pay rises in the settlement proposal is too low,” Riku Aalto, the chairperson of the Industrial Union, stated on Sunday.
The Technology Industry Employers of Finland said it is disappointed with the rejection given that the proposal would have “clearly improved” the purchasing power of employees – possibly at the expense of the cost competitiveness of employers.
“But in light of the challenging labour market situation we decided after careful deliberation to accept the proposal,” commented Jarkko Ruohoniemi, the chairperson of Technology Industry Employers.
The sides are to resume the negotiations on Wednesday, 12 February.
A breakthrough in the months-long bargaining negotiations would be of nationwide significance because the technology industry sets the framework for pay rises also in other industries.
The failure to reach an agreement means around 8,000 employees at 60 companies in the chemicals and technology industry started a five-day strike on Monday, 10 February. The strike is the third of its kind in three weeks, with the union also issuing strike warnings for the weeks starting on 17 February and 24 February.
About 60,000 members of the Industrial Union are also set to take part in a strike on 14–16 February, targeting dozens of major industrial companies including ABB, Kone, Konecranes, Metso, Meyer Turku, Nokian Tyres, Ponsse, SSAB, Stora Enso, Terrafame, UPM-Kymmene, Valmet and Versowood.
The Industrial Union, together with other members of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), announced at the end of last year it is pursuing pay rises of 10 per cent for the next two years, citing the impact of recent increases in consumer prices on the purchasing power of wage earners.
Employers have rejected the demand as excessive, saying it would severely undermine the cost competitiveness of companies.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
