-
Labour market organisations propose to provisionally make the temporarily lay-offs more flexible and unemployment security stronger
Helsinki (20.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) The process involving temporarily lay-offs should be provisionally conducted swiftly in private companies, the Finnish labour market organisations are proposing. The reason for this is clear: due to the coronavirus pandemic a big number of companies are in serious economic turmoil and might face bankruptcy if immediate steps are not taken to reduce their costs. On 16 March, the Finnish Government declared a state of emergency restricting the movement of people. This and other measures against the spread of coronavirus have caused a sudden and serious liquidity problem in many companies, especially in services. Published on 18 March, the proposal by the labour market organisations was unanimous. It has the full backing of all three trade union confederations Akava, SAK, STTK and both employers' associations EK and KT.
-
Coronavirus effect on the collective bargaining round
Helsinki (19.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) 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. Several public services collective agreements are expiring at the end of March. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the public sector economy will face major challenges in the near future, and this does not make negotiations any easier. There are different proposals as to how to cope with the situation. Tehy - The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland and Super - the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses propose that the collective bargaining in local government and private sectors should be interrupted due to the pandemic and a state of emergency declared by the Finnish Government on 16 March.
Lue lisää: Coronavirus effect on the collective bargaining...
-
Income differences between employees and CEOs have risen dramatically in just one year
Helsinki (12.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) 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. March 9 was the moment at which the average private sector employee earnings of this year surpassed a private company chief executive’s daily pay. A year before the date was February 18. The figures are calculated annually by the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK. They take into account the longer working hours of CEOs, too. The calculations are inspired by the Fat Cat Day in the UK.
-
Tarvitseeko Euroopan unioni lakisääteistä vähimmäispalkkaa?
Tekijä (11.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) Euroopan komissio käynnisti tammikuussa lupaamansa keskustelun eurooppalaisesta lakisääteisestä vähimmäispalkasta. Sellainen on käytössä 22 EU-maassa. Ilman pärjäävät Suomi, Ruotsi, Tanska, Itävalta, Italia ja Kypros sekä kolme Efta-maata Islanti, Norja ja Sveitsi. Euroopan ammatillinen yhteisjärjestö ETUC laskee vähimmäispalkan tarkoittavan tuloa, jolla saa elämiseen riittävän palkan. Tämän katsotaan yleensä olevan 60 prosenttia kansallisesta mediaanipalkasta, siis siitä jonka alle ja päälle jää puolet palkansaajista. Ymmärrys asiasta kuitenkin vaihtelee: OECD laski, että yhdessäkään vähimmäispalkasta säätäneessä EU-maassa se ei nouse tuohon 60 prosentin tasoon. Sen sijaan 17 EU-maassa vähimmäispalkka painuu alle 50 prosenttiin mediaanipalkasta.
-
Koneoppiminen luo alustataloutta
Tekijä (11.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) Itseohjautuvien autojen kehittäminen on luonut satojatuhansia työmahdollisuuksia - Venezuelaan. Koneoppimisen algoritmeja varten tehtaat tarvitsevat valtavan määrän analysoitua tietoa, ja sitä luomaan tarvitaan ihmisiä. Saksan ay-liikettä lähellä oleva tutkimuslaitos Hans Böckler Stiftung selvitti, miten autoteollisuus luo ja käyttää tällaista haamutyötä. Verkkoliikennetilastojen perusteella sadattuhannet köyhtyneet venezuelalaiset merkitsevät kuviin näkyykö niissä jalankulkija vai liikennemerkki.
-
Liitto auttaa nuorimpiakin
Tekijä (11.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) Belgian metalli- ja tekstiiliteollisuuden liitto ACV-CSC METEA onnistui poistamaan nuorten erityismatalat palkat kymmenessä sektorikohtaisessa työehtosopimuksessaan. Maan hallitus leikkasi alle 21-vuotiaiden palkkoja jopa 18 prosentilla vuonna 2016 talouskriisin varjolla. Päätös uudistettiin viime vuonna.
-
Collective bargaining in industry and private services finally moves forward, public sector is still awaiting results
Helsinki (03.03.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) 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. Trade Union Pro has also made new progress in collective bargaining, being able to close some deals and move forward in other negotiations. The employers are finally ready to negotiate and strike a deal with Pro, after a long period of reluctance to do so. Signs of an end to the deadlock in the private services sector are also apparent after Service Union United PAM reached major agreements for the retail trade and facilities services. However, PAM still has many agreements to negotiate.
-
Tanskan teollisuudelle neuvottelutulos, Ruotsissa neuvottelut alkavat
(Tekijä 28.02.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) Tanskassa on saatu neuvottelutulos teollisuuden työntekijöiden uudesta kolmivuotisesta sopimuksesta. Se menee nyt jäsenäänestykseen. Ruotsissa teollisuuden neuvottelut käynnistyvät ja osapuolten vaateet on julkistettu. Yhdeksän ammattiliittoa muodostaa Tanskassa CO-industri -ryhmän, joka neuvottelee työnantajajärjestö Dansk Industrin kanssa työehtosopimuksen 230 000 teollisuuden työntekijälle. OK20-niminen neuvottelutulos syntyi helmikuun alussa ja menee nyt liittojen käsittelyyn sekä jäsenäänestykseen. Sekä CO-industrin että Dansk Metal -liiton hallitukset suosittelevat ehdotuksen hyväksymistä.
-
Sawmills and plywood factories back to work following new collective agreement
Helsinki (25.02.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) 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 Industrial Union agreed on 23 February to the proposal made by the National Conciliator. The employers accepted it, too. The agreement follows the general line of this negotiation round: a 3.3 per cent pay rise with a 25 months agreement. And the unpaid hours are gone.
-
Press journalists' new collective agreement replaces the 24 unpaid annual working hours with 7.5 hours of paid training
Helsinki (19.02.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) 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. On 19 February, the Council of the Union of Journalists in Finland UJF unanimously approved the settlement reached in negotiations with the employers' Finnish Media Federation. They had already signalled acceptance of the deal some days earlier. The issues at hand were similar to the other negotiations: pay rise level, what to do about the 24 annual extra unpaid working hours appended to the collective agreements under strong political pressure in 2016 by the then right-wing government, and other questions concerning working time.
