Trade Union News from Finland
Helsinki (05.10.2022 – Heikki Jokinen) on 3 October, the nurses’ unions Tehy and Super and the employers' organisations have accepted the National Conciliator’s proposal for a new collective agreement for nurses in the municipal sector social and health care. According to the unions, it will guarantee at least a 17.3 per cent pay rise over the next five years, with an increase of 15.3 percent in the first three years.
The deal includes a 600 euro one-time bonus to nurses, who cared for covid-19 patients. Tehy and Super estimate that the average salary of a nurse will see an increase in pay from 2 625 now to 3 117 euro in 2027. For practical nurses pay will go up from 2 255 to 2 677 euro.
Tehy - The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland says that the new collective agreement includes several improvements in working conditions, too.
Helsinki (27.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) Since 2005, the Summer Job Helpline has been helping young people doing their summer job. The service is run by the three Finnish trade union confederations Akava, SAK and STTK.
Pay, working hours and employment contracts and how to terminate them, were the most frequently asked questions, says Hanna-Marilla Zidan on the SAK website. She ran the service from 2 May to 31 August.
Of those who contacted the Helpline, 72 per cent were summer workers. One out of five were parents and five per cent employers.
Helsinki (19.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) The deadlock in nurses' collective bargaining led to a new law restricting the right to strike and has caused serious friction in the Government.
Tehy and Super, the nurses' unions, announced five limited strikes in intensive care units and home care, to begin in September. This did not speed up the collective bargaining process, instead the employers asked the courts to outlaw strikes.
The Helsinki District Court promptly accepted requests from three hospital districts to delay the nurses' strikes at hospital intensive care units, but not in regard to home care. The reason for this ruling was the great risk to patients, and possibility of fatalities.
Helsinki (09.09.2022 - Heikki Jokinen) In June, the two nurses' unions Tehy and Super pulled out of the major municipal sector collective agreement. Presently, collective bargaining for the nurses’ is ongoing, but the debate around the deal is getting heated.
Tehy - The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland and Super - the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses are clear in their demands: nurses must get a real pay rise in order to solve the growing shortage of nurses. For the unions, this is a matter of patient security.
Aki Lindén, the social democratic Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services has taken a stance on the issue. He had already started preparing the Patient Safety Act, which would force nurses, in some cases, to work and thus limiting their right to strike.
Page 9 of 11