A man working on his computer in Helsinki in July, 2013. A survey conducted the same year found that up to 25 per cent of professional engineers are working under a flexitime system.
The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) and Technology Industries of Finland have provoked the ire of trade unions by proposing that employees in expert and middle-management positions be excluded from the scope of application of the working hours act, reports Tekniikka & Talous.
The employers organisations believe the legislative revision is warranted in light of the changing nature of work.
The Union of Professional Engineers, they point out, revealed as early as four years ago that 25 per cent of respondents to its survey indicated that they are working under a flexitime system and as many as 80 per cent that they receive work-related enquiries also after office hours.
The proposal has been rejected by trade unions, which stress that also employees in expert and management positions must be protected against excessive working hours.
Lotta Savinko, a senior expert at the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff (Akava), describes the demands of the employer organisations as utterly unsustainable. She points out that the lack of a clear-cut definition for an expert position could allow employers to argue that the working hours act does not apply to field service technicians, for example.
Samu Salo, the chairperson of the Union of Professional Engineers, highlights that an organisation typically has no more than a few employees who are fully free to set their working hours.
The Technology Industries of Finland has similarly admitted that the scope of application of the working hours act is to some extent ambiguous – particularly in regards to flexitime arrangements.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
