TU approves conciliation proposal for the paper industry
[16.06.2008]
The threat of strike of about thousand salaried employees, working for
Stora Enso, has been averted.
The threatened strike by around one thousand salaried employees, working for Stora Enso, has been averted. The Union of Salaried Employees TU approved on Monday, just before the noon, the proposal put forward by the National Conciliator to secure a new collective agreement for the paper industry salaried employees.
If the conciliation had failed, the strike would have commenced on Monday at 12, bringing out the entire salaried employee workforce of all Stora Enso's manufacturing plants in Finland.
The new agreement will be in place from 16 June 2008 to 31 March 2010. However, the agreement can be terminated on the 15 October 2009. During the agreement period the cost impact of the pay rises is set to exceed 6 per cent.
Antti Rinne, the President of TU, describes the achieved agreement as bearable, compared with the goals defined by the rank and file.
"We almost achieved the level of pay rises we pursued. For us it was decisive that now the parties should begin to develop the employment system within the companies. It will close the gap between the pay development of salaried employees and blue-collar workers. The problem will be solved directly at work places", Rinne says.
"Our rank and file will get just compensation for the significant increase in their workload and responsibility. This increase has taken place since 2000 and is a consequence of drastic job cuts."
A new path to close the pay gap
The multi-year programme to develop the pay of the salaried employees will be started by comparing pay development in companies and in their units.
TU and the employer association (The Finnish Forest Industries Federation) will establish a common task force to scrutinize pay comparisons. In 2009 the task force will coordinate the scrutiny of the pay development of all salaried employees and the comparison with other vocational groups.
Shop stewards and local employers will scrutinize, person by person, the pay development of the salaried employees and the necessary changes in their salaries.
"We discovered, during the conciliation, a new path to close the pay gap, in a transparent way". Rinne adds.
Cost impact over 6 per cent, pay rises 5.3 per cent
According to the new agreement the salaries will be raised, during the agreement period, by 5.3 per cent. 1 July 2008 each and everyone will get a pay rise of at least EUR60 per month, or at least an increase of 2.7 per cent. In addition, an increase of 1.3 per cent will be forthcoming at local level and a EUR110 bonus will be paid to all.
The local 1.3 per cent increase will be distributed equally to all unless the parties agree at local level on another kind of division. The same concerns the 0.4 per cent local increase in March 2009. Then the national level pay rise for each and everyone will be 0.9 per cent.
"For us it was an important achievement that decisions on local pay rises will not be made solely by the employers", Rinne says.
Significant improvement in equality
Rinne emphasises the importance of the so called "marginal rule" that has now been returned to the agreement.
"The rule says that salaried employees who work as foremen and supervisors must have a higher salary than the pay of their subordinates."
Other improvements concern, for example, family leave, compensation paid for the safety reps and the working hour bank.
Family leave means that the rank and file will get a six day paid paternity leave and have the right to return after it to the same job.
The Finnish Forest Industries Federation had to give up its proposals that would have made the agreement less beneficial for the salaried employees. These proposals concerned, among other things, travel time pay, shift allowances and employers' rights to decide on working hours.
Collective bargaining began in early April 2008. The
National Conciliator was officially involved in the dispute since early
June.
Viimeksi muokattu: 23.06.2008
[Kerro kaverille]
