Finland - Last minute agreement reached in food industry - May 25, 2010

The food industry strike threatening to start at midnight Monday 24 May was averted literally at the eleventh hour when both employees' and employers' unions accepted the mediation proposal of Esa Lonka, the country’s national conciliator. The Finnish Food Workers' Union (SEL) only barely approved the final proposal by 17 votes to 16. The new collective agreement is to remain in force until the end of March 2014, and includes a wage increase in the first year of 1.5%, to be implemented by 1 June 2010 and 1 October 2010. Index-related pay hikes will follow. In addition, the system of seniority rights will be improved. The agreement covers the bakery, meat procesing, dairy, food industry, and beer and beverage branches. SEL’s chairman Veli-Matti Kuntonen considered the new agreement “an achievement regarding the proposed working time deteriorations,” adding: “The outcome is below what we were set out to reach, but even within this context there is some improvement” (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 3 April 2010).

English: message of EUCOBAN network of EMF / EFFAT / ETUF-TCL / EMCEF;

http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/business/11183-finnish-food-industry;  

http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2010/05/food_industry_strike_cancelled_deal_reached ...

 

This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI atwww.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2009.

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