Erosion of working conditions
https://www.sak.fi/en/whats-new/serious-grounds/erosion-working-conditions
A radical change is coming in terms and conditions of
employment. The first Government measure will seek to reduce the status of
workers’ representatives.
• There will
be no pay for the first day of sick leave
• "Relevant
grounds" will alone suffice for dismissing an employee
• Workplaces
with no shop steward will be allowed to agree local employment conditions that
fall below the statutory standard
• Special
grounds will only be required for temporary employment when the job lasts for
longer than one year
• Reduced
powers of the national conciliator will make it harder to settle industrial
disputes
• A shorter
notice period will be required for temporary layoffs
• Businesses
with fewer than 50 employees will have no duty to re-engage redundant workers
when operations recover
Workplaces
with no shop steward allowed to agree local employment conditions that fall
below the statutory standard
From
the Government Programme
The Government will reform legislation to increase opportunities for local bargaining at company level. The Government’s vision is that local collective bargaining will be equally possible in all companies regardless of whether the company is a member of an employer association or what kind of employee representation system is in place at the company.
The Government will expand the conditions for local
bargaining by removing from labour legislation bans on local bargaining in
non-organised companies that comply with a generally applicable collective
agreement. Labour legislation will be amended to allow a company-specific
collective agreement to derogate, by agreement, from the same provisions of
labour legislation from which a derogation is now only possible by means of a
national collective agreement.
Current
practice
Labour legislation fundamentally seeks to protect the
weaker party in employment and impose a minimum standard of working conditions.
Collective agreements specify the issues that are open to local collective
bargaining and the negotiating parties. The minimum standards established in
labour law may only be set aside under a collective agreement concluded by a
trade union and a federation of employers. Only businesses organised in such a
federation may conclude local agreements that set aside statutory minimum
employment standards.
Impact
The parties to a local agreement concluded with no shop
steward will lack the necessary expertise and understanding of the content of
the collective agreement and of labour law. Without the involvement of a trade
union that is familiar with collective agreements and industry conditions,
there is nobody to ensure that local agreements are balanced, or that they do
not establish impaired standards on matters that should not be subject to local
collective bargaining.
A preference for non-organised businesses will reduce the
interest of employers in joining a federation. The duty of an employers’
federation to monitor compliance with collective agreements only extends to
affiliated businesses.
Any preference for enterprise-specific and local collective
bargaining will discourage employers from joining federations, with fewer
national collective agreements concluded in future. A decline in national
collective agreements will mean a corresponding reduction in universally
binding collective agreements, with fewer and fewer employees covered by
guaranteed minimum terms and conditions of employment.
Restrictions
on the right to strike
https://www.sak.fi/en/whats-new/serious-grounds/restrictions-right-strike
The Government speaks of changes to improve industrial peace. These turn out to be a package of measures seeking to restrict both the willingness to, and the channels available for influencing and expressing a view.
Restricting the right to strike has been a long-term goal
of employers. While the trade union movement attended the working group that
prepared this proposal, its ability to influence the content has been purely
hypothetical.
• Restriction
of political strike action
• Restriction
of sympathetic strike action
• A fine of
EUR 200 for individual strikers when a strike is found to be illegal
• A dramatic
increase in union strike fines
Restriction
of political strikes
Cuts
in social welfare
https://www.sak.fi/en/whats-new/serious-grounds/cuts-social-welfare
The Government Programme includes several proposals to cut
unemployment benefit. While most of these cuts concern earnings-related
unemployment benefit, some also affect the basic unemployment allowance and
labour market support paid by the Social Insurance Institution (KELA).
While the Government intends to implement all of these cuts
during 2024, they will nevertheless take effect gradually.
• A longer
employment condition for earnings-related benefit
• The
employment condition of eligibility for unemployment benefit will be based on
prior earnings instead of working time
• Child
supplements in unemployment benefit will be abolished
• The benefit
portion that is protected in part-time working will be abolished
• Eligibility
for unemployment benefit will begin only after phasing of outstanding holiday
compensation
• Earnings-related
benefit will already be reduced after two months of unemployment
• The waiting
period for unemployment benefit will be prolonged
• Wage-subsidised
employment will no longer count towards the employment condition for
earnings-related benefit
• Benefits
will be reduced for unemployed elderly workers
• Job
alternation leave will be abolished
• Adult
education benefit will be abolished
• The housing
allowance portion that is protected during part-time working will be abolished
and the allowance will be reduced
• Income
support will be cut and made subject to tougher eligibility conditions
• The
parental allowance increase payable for the first 16 working days will be
abolished *)
*) Following a budget session, the Government announced on
19 September 2023 that it is seeking alternative measures.
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