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21 April, 2008
ICEM affiliate Paperiliitto of Finland and that country’s Forest Industries Federation jointly announced a 22-month labour agreement, covering 22,000 workers at 70 pulp and paper mills. The new accord comes seven weeks before expiration of an existing agreement, with both sides commending the negotiations for meeting the challenges of the changing Nordic paper sector, while taking into account workers’ needs and development.
“The agreement includes numerous positive changes in workers’ conditions of employment,” stated Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen. “One important goal of the agreement is to increase real cooperation at the confederation and local level. I also consider it positive that we were able to reach an agreement in good time before the expiration of the current agreement, without outside assistance and without confrontation.”
Paperiliitto President Jouko Ahonen
The new pact will run from 1 June 2008 to 31 March 2010.
Wage levels will rise annually by 4% each in the first two years. For the third year, an increase will be negotiated by the union and industry in an autumn 2009 set of talks. If the parties fail then to reach accord on the remainder of the pact, the agreement can be terminated.
The pay system for Finnish paperworkers is being reformed in this collective agreement and their job security improved in the face of restructurings by the major paper companies. Workers made redundant due to financial or production-related reasons will be entitled to full pay for a paid-notice period, even if that worker gets a job with another employer.
The re-employment obligation by companies for workers’ made redundant was extended from nine months – the applicable period by Finnish labour law – to 15 months, from the date of the employment termination relationship. Further, the employer is obligated to inform redundant workers of new vacancies for another nine months beyond that.
Perhaps most importantly to Paperiliitto, is that terms and conditions for outsourcing and lay-offs remain unchanged.
Paperworkers also gained a three-day sick period without proof of medical certificate, a first inside Finland’s industrial sectors. The new agreement allows for flexible work time if workers and employers, with union approval, agree to it on the local level. The two sides can also agree on regular 10-hour work days.
The new pay system to be implemented will promote multi-skilled jobs. It provides opportunities, incentives and personal training for diversity of tasks, and for workers to acquire new competencies. This agreement was also achieved outside of Finland’s traditional tripartite incomes policy of employer association, national labour centres, and government, but leaves open the possibility to return to the national incomes policy in spring 2010.
Toimihenkilöunioni TU, ICEM salaried workers’ affiliate in Finland, which represents white-collar workers in the pulp and paper sector, has currently just begun talks with the Finland Forest Industries Federation on a new labour agreement. That pact also expires 31 May 2008.