Dispute over employees’ right to training days unresolved

A dispute over the right of Finnish workers to three-days of training per year has strained relations between employers and trade unions. The situation has been in deadlock for some months, with representatives from both sides attempting to find a solution with the help of the Minister of Labour, Lauri Ihalainen. The dispute has meant other working life quality issues have been left unresolved on the table until the issue of the training entitlement is settled.

Background

In October 2011, social partners worked out a tripartite framework for a new centralised national agreement on wages and conditions (FI1110011I).

The framework agreement meant a return to the model of centralised agreements, after a period of sectorally-negotiated collective agreements. In addition to pay increases, the agreement included several substantial quality of working life issues. One of these was the opportunity for employees to participate in three days’ paid training per year. Through this measure, social partners believed they could enhance employees’ skills and increase their expertise.

A tripartite working group has been drafting new legislation on improvements to working life on the basis of the initiative. Last summer, it appeared that the working group would complete its talks and be able to present a new law on the development of workers’ skills. There were some disagreements, the most significant of which centred on whether employees could decide how the three training days would be used, or if their allocation would be decided by the employer.

Employers reject proposal

In September 2012, the Board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) rejected the proposal agreed by its own negotiators. According to the EK Board, the procedures set out in the proposal were not conducive to the genuine development of skills in the workplaces.

Trade unions consider that EK is reneging on the framework agreement. The employers’ U-turn on the issue has led to the situation where other working life quality issues remain unsettled. They will remain on the table for as long as the issue of the training entitlement remains unresolved. The dispute has strained relations between the two sides.

The representatives of the union and employer sides met with the Minister of Labour, Lauri Ihalainen, in mid-October, but social partners failed to break the deadlock. After an unsuccessful tripartite meeting, the Government expressed a hope that the parties would continue to search for an agreement on the bilateral negotiations.

Markku Salomaa, Labour Market and Regulation Department Director of the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK), said that despite the changed situation and dispute, the aim should still be to bring the reform into effect from the beginning of 2013.

According to Salomaa, all parties have committed to this target in the framework agreement, and there is €100 million set aside for the reform in the Government budget.

No sign of an end to the deadlock

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) has issued an ultimatum saying that it wants to see the dispute settled by the end of year. The Chair of SAK, Lauri Lyly, has said that extra time is needed to settle the dispute.

However, the Director General of EK, Mikko Pukkinen, said there was no need for extra time, because no amount of extra time would change the employers’ view on the issue.

Commentary

Both sides have until the end of the year to find a solution to this dispute and some of the other related and unresolved working life issues approved in the framework agreement (FI1110011I). The disagreement has already influenced the climate of industrial relations, and it is obvious that if the dispute over training days cannot be resolved, then it can only weaken the confidence between social partners and impinge on future negotiations and agreements.

Pertti Jokivuori, University of Jyväskylä