Dispute over retirement age unresolved after talks between PM and union federations

Labour market organisations to meet with government next week to iron out differences

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Talks between Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) and leaders of Finnish labour union organisations on raising the minimum age for old-age pensions concluded on Wednesday without an agreement.
      Talks are to continue on Wednesday next week.
      The union federations want the government to cancel its decision to raise the minimum retirement age from 63 years to 65.
      The leaders left the Prime Minister’s residence after negotiations lasting slightly over an hour, looking serious and disappointed. The labour leaders said that Vanhanen was inflexible, while Vanhanen said that the organisations were unwilling to compromise.
     
The promise to continue the discussions was seen as the only positive outcome.
      “The dialogue still exists, but this does not look good”, said Mikko Mäenpää, Chairman of the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK) after the meeting.
      Lauri Ihalainen, President of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), said that the matter is important for the government as well.
      “This situation is becoming more tense in such a way that hopefully the government will consider its own assessments further. Today, the government was not ready for an approach that would have been smart.”
     
In addition to the pension age question, relations between the government and wage- earners in general were affected by the so-called social incomes agreement, which the organisations say that the government wants to amend unilaterally.
      Ihalainen believes that organised labour has the strong support of public opinion on the matter.
      “People feel that this is unfair, and think that at least some entity in society is sticking up for ordinary people.”
     
Vanhanen said that the discussions at Wednesday’s meeting were good ones. He also defended the government’s move.
      “There are not many supporters of this proposal in our society, but the government has made this decision with very serious consideration.”
      Earlier in the day, both the white-collar union federations, the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK) and the academic professionals’ Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff (AKAVA) discussed the matter. The proposal was unanimously rejected by both organisations. AKAVA and STTK urged the government to cancel the proposal, or at least to change it.
      “The hike in the retirement age was simply a wrong decision by the government”, said AKAVA chairman Matti Viljanen after a meeting of the group’s executive.
     
Both organisations are ready to negotiate on longer working hours, but reject the government’s proposal for a higher retirement age. They consider the present system of flexible retirement between the ages of 63 and 68 to be a better model.
      AKAVA demanded that the proposed change in the retirement age should be sent back to tripartite preparation, involving the labour market organisations and the government, already this week.
      The organisations felt that raising the minimum age for retirement would not raise the age at which people really retire, and that it would, in fact, serve as an incentive to use the early retirement systems.
      AKAVA also denounced the government’s plan to tighten the conditions for voluntary pension insurance.
     
The organisations considered possible means of pressure, but they are not threatening a general strike. The action to be taken will be discussed by the groups early next week.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Dr. Kari Puro does not expect raised retirement age to affect real age of retirement (4.3.2009)
  Organised labour angered by government decision on old-age pensions (26.2.2009)
  Government decides on gradual raising of minimum age for old-age pension to 65 (25.2.2009)

See also:
  NEWS ANALYSIS: Credit rating fears outweigh need to keep the voters happy (3.3.2009)

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