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Finland: historic new trade union agreement



This week, the Finnish social partners agreed on a new labour market framework agreement that will regulate working conditions of 94% of workers and employees.

The new agreement covers all public sector employees and 91% of the private sector employees for the next two years. Both union leaders and government representatives have characterized the comprehensive settlement’s overwhelming reach as a historic achievement.



Finnish trade union leaders emphasize that the agreement significantly increases the predictability of the economy and effectively defends the purchasing power of workers and salaried employees. The agreement also brings qualitative improvements to several hundred collective agreements, updated on the basis of the framework agreement.



The agreement includes two pay rises (2.4% for the first 13 months and 1.9% for the following 12 months), a EUR 150 lump sum during the first year and several changes in working life regulations (working conditions, employee security, work life balance…). In addition, the government has promised to make the agreement more attractive by tax cuts for both employees and companies together with a few other measures.



For the ICT sector, the agreement represents a milestone, as the sector had never such coverage in a central agreement. Besides, there have been no central agreements since 2007.