Tension heightens in bargaining round

In Finland's spring 2000 collective bargaining round, there were still no agreements by early March in a number of important sectors - including chemicals, paper, food and transport - and the negotiating atmosphere was becoming tense. Workers in the forest machinery sector started a strike on 2 March.

In early March 2000, the Finnish collective bargaining round ground to a halt in a number of industries. Bargaining is occurring at sector level, as a central incomes policy agreement proved impossible to reach (FI9910124N), and it in those sectors where the trade unions, motivated by sector-specific problems, decided in autumn 2000 not to seek a centralised agreement that bargaining has broken down. These unions are making higher wage demands than the 3.1% benchmark set in metalworking (FI0001133F) and generally followed elsewhere (FI0002135N), and many are also pressing for a cut in working time. It is not expected that the remaining sectors will achieve fast results.

In several sectors, trade unions have called an overtime ban, and some have issued strike notices. Negotiations are still proceeding in those sectors where industrial action can cause widespread disruption - this involves affiliates of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (Suomen Ammattiliittojen Keskusjärjestö, SAK) such as the Chemical Workers' Union (Kemianliitto), the Finnish Foodstuff Worker's Union (Elintarvikeliitto), the Finnish Transport Workers' Union (Auto- ja Kuljetusalan Ammattiliitto, AKT) and the Paper Workers' Union (Paperiliitto). Furthermore, some smaller key groups like the Finnish Railway Workers' Union (Veturimiesten Liitto) are still without an agreement.

A strike broke out on 2 March in the forest machinery sector, organised by an affiliate of the Wood and Allied Workers' Union (Puu- ja Erityisalojen Liitto, PL). This sector is small - the union has 3,000 members (out of a total workforce of 1.9 million) - but is important as regards wood supply, and the strike may stop the wood supply to industry within a couple of weeks, though earlier for small sawmills. The strike will first affect manufacturing industries using wood, and later chemicals industries, because stocks are very small nowadays and the aim is to have wood delivered for processing as fresh as possible, for quality reasons. The national conciliator, Juhani Salonius, did not even submit any proposals for a settlement in this sector, as he recognised that the views of the parties involved were still far apart.

PL considers that its members' wages do not match the demands and responsibility of their work. The union is seeking a two-year agreement, with a pay increase of around 5% in the first year and 6%-7% in the second year, according to the PL secretary, Aulis Nevalainen. Matti Peltola, managing director of the Employers' Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth-Moving Contractors (Koneyrittäjien Liitto), claims that the effect of such a deal would be to increase costs by some 20%. The Association has offered a pay increase of 1.5%, about half of the general trend of 3.1%. There are many unorganised workers in the sector, but it appears that many have now started to join PL.

The forest machinery strike is unusual in that the employers state that they understand the workers' demands, but justify their rejection by saying that companies cannot afford the increase due to stiff competition and the low level of raw material and contract prices. Mr Peltola believes that the sector faces a further problem in that it is not prepared for external shocks like increases in fuel costs and interest rates. He anticipates that the forest products industry, for its part, will try to solve the problem through higher bids for contracts, if the workers insist on their demands. Otherwise, firms will begin to disappear from the sector through bankruptcy. Industry may meet the problem halfway, but it may also increase wood imports from abroad. In the extreme case, the strike may be seen as involving the question of keeping the sector in Finnish hands.