University staff deserve pay raises in line with the general trend
The high-quality research conducted by university staff and the teaching based on it enable Finland’s competitive development and innovation activities. Teaching at universities is based on research, and as the level of research rises, so does the level of expertise.
In the collective agreement negotiations, JUKO aims for general increases that improve purchasing power for all university staff. With this, we want to ensure that salaries and coping at work remain at a level that makes our universities attractive employers and that the research conducted in Finland meets international criteria.
“University staff deserve fair pay raises in line with the general trend, as universities are building the future for Finland every day.”
The Finnish Education Employers, FEE, representing university employers, states on its website (in Finnish) that it would have offered a pay raise level in line with the general trend in the negotiations.
“Unfortunately, it must be noted that the amount of general increases offered is far from an acceptable level. Additionally, Sivista proposes significant deteriorations, especially to the terms of employment for teaching and research staff.”
Contrary to what has been suggested, the organizations representing university staff at the negotiating table, JUKO, Pro, and JHL, have progressed in a very developmental manner.
Well-being at work is not created by increasing workloads, and most of the employer’s proposals for work planning are already implemented under the current collective agreement provisions.
The proposals to modify work planning do not take into account factors that regulate workload, so if implemented, the changes would allow for a significant increase in teaching hours from the current level. This we cannot accept.
“As a solution, we have offered, for example, local agreements and working group work based on research and expertise to determine how working time regulations could be developed from a university perspective.”
We have been negotiating intensively since the beginning of February, and the contract period ended at the end of March, so the negotiations are already seriously overdue.
The primary desire of employees is to achieve a fair solution for a new collective agreement in universities through negotiation and agreement, but now we must also seek other means to reach a solution.
Tarja Niemelä and Katja Aho
The authors are the chair of JUKO’s university sector negotiating committee (and Executive Director of the Finnish Union of University Professors) and the head of negotiations for the university sector.