The Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF ) and the Trade Union Pro both accepted the National Conciliator’s proposal for settlement. According to the settlement, salaries will increase by approximately 1.55% in 2018 and by 1.6% in 2019, which is in line with the general labour market development. Approximately one half of the allocation of the impact of the settlement may be agreed on locally.
The negotiations between the Finnish Forest Industries Federation and the Trade Union Pro took place on Sunday and were chaired by the National Conciliator to settle the collective agreement for professionals in the paper industry. The agreement involves approximately 2,400 professionals.
“The settlement brought changes to the terms of employment for professionals that were necessary to improve the competitiveness of the industry. The settlement also increases the possibility of local-level bargaining,” says Nina Pärssinen, Labour Market Director, the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.
The settlement includes changes similar to the new collective agreement for paper industry workers. These include, among others, lower salary costs during scheduled downtimes at Christmas and Midsummer. The rules that guide hiring after lay-offs were softened and are now in accordance with the Employment Contracts Act. In addition, the notice period for temporary lay-offs was reduced from four weeks to two weeks.
The term of the agreement is 24 months, calculated from the end date of the term of the previous agreement (30 September 2017). The across-the-board increase in the first year includes a clause on a minimum increase in euros. Therefore, the highest increases will be allocated to the lowest salary brackets. This has been taken into account when agreeing on the level of increases.
