Truce brokered at Finnish National Opera is criticised by all parties

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The threat of strike action was averted at the Finnish National Opera, while both the employer and the employees themselves expressed dissatisfaction with the last-minute settlement which cancelled the planned walkout.
      The industrial action had threatened to cancel the performances atr the end of this week, in the run-up to Epiphany.
      "We really have no reason to cheer", commented soprano Katriina Kerppola after a chorus rehearsal on Wednesday.
     
"At this point it was important to maintain labour peace and to ensure that the performances could be carried out as planned, even though the issue of more flexible working hours and organisation of work that the Board of the Opera was calling for could not be agreed upon", noted Päivi Kärkkäinen, the new General Director of the Finnish National Opera.
      "This was just a salary settlement, while no difficult issues were included in the agreement at all", reported District Conciliator Esa Lonka, who made the conciliation proposal.
      The new labour contract will be valid until the end of January, 2010.
     
The settlement means that the Opera’s artistic personnel will immediately see a nearly four per cent rise in pay, as well as a more than 2% general salary increase in the autumns of 2008 and 2009.
      While the employer was reported to feel that the settlement was inadequate, the issues of working hour flexibility and pension benefits were left to a working group to be set up for the purpose.
     
In addition to the general salary increase, the employer will be able to entice the personnel with the help of so-called development payments, two 1% sums which will be paid in March 2008 and 2009, provided that the employer and the employees will be able to agree on certain development actions locally.
      According to General Director Kärkkäinen, the negotiations on working hour flexibility will be held at the beginning of the year, while she is unwilling to reveal the schedule nor any details of the upcoming talks.
      In principle, soprano Eija-Riitta Aakio, the shop steward of the Opera chorus, takes a positive attitude toward the negotiations, even though she has some doubts as to the personnel policy pursued by the Opera.
      Actually, the employees would have been willing to agree to the proposed more flexible working hour arrangements, had a settlement been reached on the retirement issue.
      The Finnish National Opera plans to weaken the pension benefits of the personnel, which would particularly affect ballet dancers, who retire at the age of 44.
     
The employees feel that the employer cannot make one-sided amendments to the terms of the retirement plan, and the Finnish Musicians’ Union is ready to take the issue to court.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Threat of strike looming over Finnish National Opera (20.12.2007)
  National Opera appoints a GD with a sharp eye for money matters (28.9.2007)

Links:
  Finnish National Opera

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