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9.11.2011 Federation of Finnish Technology Industries’ collective agreement settlement for the IT sector
6.11.2011 Federation of Finnish Technology Industries and YTN accept settlement proposal
1.11.2011 A strike concerning senior salaried employees at some member companies in Technology Industries
1.11.2011 A new strike threat concerning some member companies in IT Service Sector
6.11.2011
Additional information:
Risto Alanko, Executive Vice President, tel. 040 502 6411
Federation of Finnish Technology Industries and YTN accept settlement proposal
The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries and YTN, the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff, have approved a settlement proposal made by National Conciliator Esa Lonka today. Consequently, the strike started by YTN on 1 November will end, and tomorrow’s planned expansion of the strike is called off.
According to the settlement proposal, pay settlements are to be negotiated primarily at the company level. “The significance of this facility is emphasised by the considerable differences in companies’ financial situation and outlook,” said Risto Alanko, Executive Vice President of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries.
The collective agreement also contains a fall-back procedure in which pay revisions are made on the basis of a general pay-rise based on the framework agreement and a locally negotiated company-specific component. The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries considers it important that the company-specific component is targeted so as to create incentives on the basis of labour-productivity, competence and performance. Taking into account the job descriptions of senior salaried employees in the deployment of the company-specific component, it is possible that a different procedure may be used inside a company. If no agreement is reached on the implementation of the company-specific component, the parties involved can seek the opinion of their labour-market organisations on the implementation of the company-specific component. If the parties fail to reach agreement after this stage, the company-specific component is to be paid as a general pay-rise.
“In light of the current economic situation and the outlook for the near future, the fall-back procedure based on the framework agreement is too expensive and will raise costs more than in key competitor countries,” said Jorma Turunen, CEO of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries
For the first year, the fall-back pay settlement, which is based on the framework agreement between the central labour-market organisations, entails a 1.6 percent general pay-rise and a 0.8 percent company-specific component. For the second year, starting 1 November 2012, the fall-back option provides for a 1.3 percent general pay-rise and a 0.6 percent company-specific component.
Additional damage to be avoided
The Federation of Finnish technology Industries was prepared to accept the settlement, in spite of its expense, in order to avoid the damage that would have been caused by the strikes on the brink of a slump. The cost of the settlement underlines the absolute necessity for undisrupted labour markets and the important of the swift and complete implementation of state measures to reinforce competitiveness.
In the implementation of the framework agreement, it must be certain that the functioning of the labour markets will not be weakened by increasing rigidities.
Additional information:
Risto Alanko, Executive Vice President, tel. 040 502 6411
