Negotiations on behalf of 34,000 university employees began on Tuesday 17 January

The negotiations for the pay rises of university employees this year began on Tuesday 17 January. The negotiations affect 34,000 employees in total.

 

Tarja Niemelä (Finnish Union of University Professors), chair of the JUKO university advisory board, and Head of Collective Bargaining Katja Aho point out that Finnish universities must be able to compete for talent as well-paying, high-quality workplaces that are pioneers of professional development.

 

If negotiations do not achieve a result regarding salaries in January or February, the two-year collective agreement reached in spring 2022 may be terminated to expire at the end of March.

 

In that case, all the universities’ staff would be without a collective agreement as of 1 April. Without a valid collective agreement, the provisions of the old collective agreement are observed, but industrial action is also possible.

 

The organizations negotiating the universities’ and teacher training schools’ general collective agreement are: JUKO, the Negotiation Organization for Public Sector Professionals; the Pro Trade Union; JHL, the Trade Union for Public and Welfare Sectors; and Finnish Education Employers.

 

The members of Akava unions represented by JUKO work at universities in such areas as research, teaching, administration and management.

 

The parties will next meet on Friday 20 January.  

 

 

Main contractual parties | JUKO; Pro Trade Union; JHL, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors; and Finnish Education Employers

 

Collective agreements | Universities’ general collective agreement and the teacher training school collective agreement

 

Negotiators | Head of Collective Bargaining Katja Aho (JUKO), University Advisory Board Chair and Executive Director Tarja Niemelä (Finnish Union of University Professors), Special Adviser Hanna Tanskanen (Trade Union of Education in Finland, OAJ), Negotiations Manager Petri Toiviainen (Social Science Professionals)

 

The universities’ general collective agreement covers an approximate 34,000 employees.