Deadline for incomes agreement postponed until Thursday afternoon

Seppo Riski

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Labour market leaders decided late on Wednesday night to postpone the deadline for separate talks linked with the recently-negotiated broad-based incomes agreement. The aim is to get as many individual unions as possible to sign on to the main treaty.
      The executive of the Confederation of Finnish Industry (EK) is to meet Thursday afternoon to decide if the coverage of the centralised agreement will be sufficient.
      Seppo Riski, the head of labour market affairs at EK, said on Wednesday evening that sectors involving the transport of goods, people, money, and information must all be covered by the contract. As of Wednesday evening, discussions with unions representing all of those sectors remained open.
     
Earlier on Wednesday bank employees rejected the whole incomes agreement, but efforts were resumed later in the night.
      The Union of Salaried Employees (TU), and YTN, an association which negotiates contract terms for various white collar professions, also raised objections in the discussions.
      TU delayed its decision until Thursday. A decision on the mechanical wood processing industry also remained open.
     
Agreement in the municipal sector was reached early in the evening.
      In addition to the overall pay hikes, the municipal employees' contract brings an extra wage increase of just under two percent. The extra increases will not be the same for everyone, however, and will mainly take the form of individual bonuses.
      Municipal doctors were again left outside the broad-based incomes agreement.
      The Finnish Seamen's Union reached agreement on Wednesday evening on a three-year contract.
     
In spite of the delays, the EK's Seppo Riski, and Lauri Ihalainen, the chairman of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), expressed confidence on Thursday morning that a sufficient number of sectors would sign on to the broad-based incomes agreement.
      The two were interviewed on Aamu-TV, the breakfast show of the public service television network YLE TV-1.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Metal hammers out incomes agreement - talks stalled on many sectors (16.12.2004)

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