In mid-June, the social partners reached an agreement on a general pay raise for next year. The moderate raise of €16 or 0.43% per month will cover some 90% of all workers
The national wage agreement signed by trade unions confederations Akava, SAK and STTK was a compromise between the needs of high and low salaried employees, as a flat rate increase of €16 per month will apply for salaries below €3,720 and a percentage increase of 0.43% per month for those above it. Covering approximately 90% of all employees, the agreement is very inclusive. Only the Transport Workers’ Union AKT and the Finnish Seafarers’ Union, member unions of the blue-collar labour union confederation SAK, decided to remain outside the agreement and will instead negotiate their own collective agreements. The negotiations were conducted within the framework of the central level agreement Pact for Employment and Growth which the social partners agreed on in October 2013. The negotiated raise was widely considered to be very moderate. The government declared its satisfaction with the result, with Minister of Finance Alexander Stubb (National Coalition Party) noting that moderation was necessary in order to improve Finnish competitiveness.