Publications

CNPF, the main French employers' association, elected Ernest-Antoine
Seillière as its president in December 1997. Mr Seillière restated his
fundamental opposition to the current bill to introduce the 35-hour working
week, and announced far-reaching reform of CNPF's organisation.

In December 1997, the leading Japanese car manufacturer, Toyota, announced
that it had chosen the northern French town of Valenciennes as the site for
its new car assembly plant. This will create between 1,500 and 2,000 new
jobs.

In December 1997, the Council of Ministers adopted the bill aimed at putting
into effect the French Government's plan to reduce the statutory working week
to 35 hours.

The results of the December 1997 elections to France's /Prud'hommes/
industrial tribunals have confirmed the trends observed for more than a
decade. The only new development is the CFDT union confederation's victory in
the management staff electoral college.

A law governing the financing of France's social security system was adopted
on 2 December 1997. This legislation continues along the same lines as the
plan put forward by the previous Government and aims to reduce the social
security deficit radically.

Following the severe economic recession of the early 1990s, the Finnish
economy has more recently been characterised by a period of economic growth
and relative stability. In 1997, economic growth rates amounted to 5.9%. This
improved economic position also led to a reduction in unemployment, from a
rate of 15.6% in 1996 to 14.5% in 1997. However, employment opportunities
were primarily generated for young and highly-skilled people, while older
workers and the low-skilled continued to suffer from long-term unemployment.
Inflation decreased to 1.3% and the public deficit was reduced to 0.9% of
GDP.

The Finnish Medical Association (Suomen Lääkäriliitto, SLL) is one of the
few trade unions that have decided not to approve the central incomes policy
agreement, signed on 12 December 1997 by trade union and employers'
confederations (FI9801145F [1]). The employers of the doctors concerned, the
Commission for Local Authority Employers (Kunnallinen työmarkkinalaitos,
KT), made a proposal for an agreement but the doctors decided to reject it.
According to SLL, the proposal did not resolve the dispute concerning
doctors' working hours. The income of medical doctors will decrease
significantly in 1998 if they become fully subject the new Working Hours Act
( which has been in force from the beginning of 1997). Until now, no drastic
changes have taken place due to local agreements. If these local agreements
cannot be prolonged, the limitations of the Act will take full effect. The EU
Directive on certain aspects of the organisation of working time [2]
(93/104/EC) forbids long sessions of emergency duty and the doctors want the
resulting loss of income to be compensated by increasing wages for normal
working time. Previously, the pay of hospital doctors consisted to a large
extent of remuneration for emergency duties.

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/second-incomes-policy-agreement-for-employment-is-signed
[2] http://europa.eu.int/comm/sg/scadplus/leg/en/cha/c10405.htm

Finland's central social partner organisations reached a national incomes
policy agreement for 1998-2000 in early December 1997 (FI9801145F [1]). The
deal required approval by the member organisations of the signatory
confederations, and a deadline of 11 December was set for the completion of
this ratification process. The settlement was threatened by the failure of
the Paperworkers' Union (Paperiliitto) - which is considered a key union in
the incomes policy deal - to meet the deadline, as it sought the resolution
of outstanding sectoral issues. However, a truce was later achieved in the
paper industry, with the union prevailing on employers to maintain the
current position on "outsourcing", allowing the ratification of the central
agreement. The Paperworkers' Union is an affiliate of the SAK confederation.

[1] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/undefined/second-incomes-policy-agreement-for-employment-is-signed

On 27 November 1997, the Finnish Firefighters' Union (Suomen Palomiesliitto,
SPAL) called a strike which continues at the time of writing (11 December).
The action arises from disagreements about firefighters' pay system, working
hours and retirement age. An attempt at conciliation ended without results
and the national conciliator, Juhani Salonius, came to the conclusion that
the parties stood so far apart that not even a proposal for a settlement
could be made.

Developments in European Union (EU) and national-level policy with a direct
impact on industrial relations were influenced by a number of key trends and
events in 1997, many of which are set to continue to be of relevance in the
policy debate in 1998: