THE BOARDS of Service Union United (PAM) and the Finnish Commerce Federation on Sunday approved a new two-year collective bargaining agreement for employees in the commerce sector, signalling the end of all strikes, overtime bans and other industrial actions in the sector.
PAM on Sunday said the agreement guarantees full-time employees a monthly pay rise of 165 euros over the two years and a non-recurring bonus of 400 euros payable in March.
Annika Rönni-Sällinen, the chairperson at PAM, expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of “complicated and difficult” negotiations.
“We managed to negotiate an agreement that we can be pleased with. Our long-term goal for euro-denominated pay rises was fulfilled. Euro-denominated pay rises benefit particularly low-paid employees,” she commented in a press release late yesterday evening.
“The negotiations were not easy. Planned and carried out industrial actions played a major role in reaching this good an outcome – thanks goes to all our members in the commerce sector.”
PAM had been pursuing a 200-euro bump in monthly pay.
The two labour market organisations also agreed to lengthen the paid family leave of non-gestational parent from 6 to 36 days, overhaul the remuneration system for managerial and logistics employees, and integrate language-based bonuses into the overall pay of employees.
A three-day strike covering around 4,000 employees at 47 logistics centres was scheduled to begin this week and expand to cover 26,000 employees at 415 workplaces, including all K-Citymarkets, Lidls and Prismas in Finland, on Thursday, 16 February. A two-day strike created difficulties in a number of grocery shops in the country last week, but the majority of shops managed to stay open using managerial and on-demand staff.
The Finnish Commerce Federation on Sunday said the agreement aligns with the so-called general line.
“The pay rises align with the so-called general line and place emphasis on low-paid employee groups in the commerce sector, including cashiers,” said Anna Lavikkala, the head of labour market issues at the Finnish Commerce Federation.
“The collective bargaining agreement in the commerce sector leaped toward multicultural labour markets, where English can be one of the working languages. Employers in the commerce sector regarded these changes as urgent and important,” she added.
More details of the agreement will be published early this week.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
