Committee completes examination of 'general validity' of collective agreements
Publikováno: 16 January 2003
Since new legislation was passed in 2001, a special committee has been examining whether Finland's various sectoral collective agreements should be considered generally valid - ie also applicable to employers and employees that are not members of the signatory organisations. In November 2002, the committee completed its work, ruling that the agreement for the road haulage sector - whose status had previously been unclear - was generally valid.
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Since new legislation was passed in 2001, a special committee has been examining whether Finland's various sectoral collective agreements should be considered generally valid - ie also applicable to employers and employees that are not members of the signatory organisations. In November 2002, the committee completed its work, ruling that the agreement for the road haulage sector - whose status had previously been unclear - was generally valid.
The new Employment Contracts Act which came into force in June 2001 (FI0107193F) addressed, among other issues, the 'general validity' of agreements. A collective agreement with general validity is deemed to be binding on all employers and employees in a sector, and not just members of the signatory organisations. One of the changes made by the Act was the creation of a special committee with the task of confirming whether national sectoral collective agreements are representative in the sector concerned in such a way that they could be considered as generally valid.
The committee completed its work in November 2002, when it confirmed that the collective agreement for the road haulage sector, whose status had previously been regarded as unclear, was generally valid. As grounds for this decision, the committee used new criteria laid down in the revised Employment Contracts Act. In the view of the committee, the representativeness of the parties to the agreement assessed on previous criteria (requiring that about 50% of the sector's employees and employers be members of the signatory organisations) would not have guaranteed the general validity of the road haulage agreement. However, the committee ratified general validity on the grounds of the permanent nature of collective bargaining arrangements in the sector and the general membership level of the trade union and employers' organisations involved.
During the committee's work in confirming the general validity of agreements, it has applied the new criteria in the Employment Contracts Act in only three cases. Fourteen of the committee's decisions have been appealed to the Labour Court, where they have been partly changed or may still be changed.
The reform of the Employment Contracts Act in this area was aimed at laying down more specifically the grounds for general validity and clarifying its application. Disputes on this issue had long delayed the adoption of the new Act (FI0009161F). Collective agreements which were not considered as generally valid before the new Act came into force can achieve this status in future, in the event that bargaining activity becomes permanent in the sector and the level of membership of the signatory organisations rises.
Through the general validity system, collective agreements in Finland cover up to 90% of wage earners.
Eurofound doporučuje citovat tuto publikaci následujícím způsobem.
Eurofound (2003), Committee completes examination of 'general validity' of collective agreements, article.
