A dispute over the terms and conditions of employment for bank and other financial sector employees was settled on Sunday, 25 March, 2018.
The strikes and other industrial actions announced by financial sector employees have been called off, according to Minna Helle, the National Conciliator of Finland.
Helle on Sunday that her settlement proposal has been accepted by the parties to the long-running dispute over the terms and conditions of employment in the financial sector: Trade Union Pro, Nordea Union Finland (Nousu), the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff (YTN), Service Sector Employers (Palta) and Finance Finland (FFI).
“The financial sector has found an agreement on wage increases that’s in line with the general approach,” commented Antti Hakala, the head of the finance sector at Trade Union Pro.
“At the start of the collective bargaining negotiations last autumn, the employer’s organisation was only willing to consent to marginal general increases and would’ve wanted that the increases are granted mainly at the employer’s discretion,” he tells.
The collective bargaining negotiations dragged on particularly because of a disagreement about the assignment of weekend shifts.
Both FFI and Palta on Sunday said they are pleased that the settlement that eliminated the possibility of widespread strikes and makes it possible for financial service providers to operate also on the weekends.
The settlement enables financial service providers to assign weekend shifts based on a set of ground-rules. The objective will be to agree on weekend assignments locally, but if an agreement cannot be found the employer can assign weekend shifts to employees – also against their will in cases where there are not enough volunteers.
“We’ve now taken an important step towards overhauling working time regulations in the financial sector,” said Tuomas Aarto, the director general of Palta.
“In the future, it’ll be possible to work more flexibly on the weekends. After a multi-phase process, the agreement on weekend work is a well-balanced whole that takes into account the views of both sides,” he added.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Timo Jaakonaho – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
