Dispute over allocation and reporting of working hours at Finnish universities

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Problems relating to the allocation and reporting of staff working hours have led to a major dispute at several Finnish universities.
      For example at the Helsinki University of Technology, the most recent instructions concerning working hours are so strict that they were handled at a meeting held by AKAVA's Public Sector Negotiating Commission JUKO on Monday.
      AKAVA is the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland.
     
According to JUKO, the University of Technology will have to launch "immediate negotiations" on the issue. Unless an agreement is reached, the dispute may have to be submitted to the labour court.
      The need to allocate the working hours is based on cost accounting, in other words it is necessary to clarify how labour costs are divided between teaching, research, and special projects. The aim is to separate particularly the budgetary projects from those financed by outside funding.
     
According to the instructions given at the Helsinki University of Technology, an employee is to record a total of 7.25 hours per each working day, allocated to projects or other fields of activity.
      All those who work a minimum of one hour for projects that are financed by outside funding will have to allocate their working hours to every working day without exception.
     
The staff organizations of Finnish universities have criticized such allocation systems.
      Risto Laitinen, the Chairman of the Finnish Union of University Professors, notes in the most recent issue of Acatiimi, a magazine published by the Union, that such meticulous reporting of working hours is too time-consuming, inaccurate, and even unnecessary.


Links:
  The Finnish Union of University Professors (FUUP)
  AKAVA

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