Trade union confederations have criticized the employers’ organisation, the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, that has been calling for the next pay settlement in the export industry sector to set the framework for pay developments in other sectors. Union confederations were quick to turn down this proposal. Akava confederation President Sture Fjäder pointed out that EK is not in a position to dictate or impose public sector solutions, as it is not even one of the organizations that participate in public sector bargaining. SAK's President Lauri Lyly also rejected EK's proposal by saying: “We are offered the role of a pay police, not the one of a negotiator”. And STTK's President Mikko Mäenpää joined the chorus by criticising EK for ignoring the basic goals of the trade union movement. All this is part of a wider debate about collective bargaining in Finland where there is still support within the union movement for cross-sectoral bargaining to set a framework for sectoral negotiations that last took place in 2007 (See also this Collective Bargaining Newsletter Year 4 July-August 2011).
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/437;
http://www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2011/o32
http://www.nordiclabourjournal.org/nyheter/news-2011-1/article.2011-09-06.0625913792
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 at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.