A series of strikes have occurred in response to moves by the Helsinki government to obstruct workers’ rights.
The Finnish government’s announced efforts to reform labor market policy and labor and social legislation have triggered a wave of strikes in the country. In the context of recent decades, this is challenging the traditional structures of industrial relations and labor law.
Cooperation between social partners is a feature of the history of Finnish labor law. Despite some changes in the labor market system, employers’ associations and trade unions have traditionally played a strong role. In some cases, legal reforms may be implemented based on agreements between the two countries.
Nevertheless, the system has become considerably more decentralized in recent years. In 2015, the Federation of Finnish Industry (Erin Keino Eraman Kesuku Slim EK) amended its rules and withdrawn from intensive income policy agreements. As a result of the rule changes, central collective agreements are no longer concluded. Agreements are negotiated between employers and employee organizations on a sector-by-sector basis.
Also at sectoral level, the Finnish Forest Industry Federation (Mezzatheolis Lee) decided in 2020 to no longer negotiate collective agreements. Afterwards, the Finnish technology industry (technology atheorlis rai) has divided its activities into two associations. The new structure provides her with two options for collective bargaining: company-specific agreements and national agreements.
put a cap on wage increases
Changes in Finland reflect the transformation of labor market systems in many countries, challenging traditional models and regulatory systems. The reduced importance of bargaining between social partners can lead to government intervention in collective bargaining in some European countries, reducing parties’ autonomy. The current Finnish government, elected in April last year, aims to reduce political strikes and cap wage increases to levels negotiated in the export industry, which faces global competition.
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Decentralization is also reflected in the expansion of regional bargaining. The government aims to expand local bargaining by removing restrictions on local bargaining in unorganized enterprises, which are currently bound by the extension of collective agreements to all sectors. Regional bargaining will apply to all companies.
The legal changes being prepared, some of which are being resisted by trade unions, could affect the fundamental rights of workers in Finland. These changes relate to the right to take industrial action and participate in collective bargaining. Wage determination is central to this.
The government is proposing a wage model in which the export sector sets the ceiling. This has drawn widespread opposition from labor groups. Under this model, national conciliation boards or conciliation boards could not exceed the prevailing level of wage increases. Limiting the duties of state mediators through prior legislation would violate fundamental values from the perspective of collective bargaining autonomy.
Export-driven wage models have been considered unequal in sectors with a preponderance of female workers. Women play an important role in the Finnish labor market, but there is still a long way to go to achieve equal pay. The weak economic position of the public sector is increasingly hampering efforts to improve wages in the female-dominated care sector, which suffers from labor shortages.
Elements of the government-led reforms, such as restrictions on the right to strike, are also questionable in light of Finland’s international treaty obligations. These include International Labor Organization conventions and European Union law.
tripartite approach
Until now, Finland has mainly taken a tripartite approach to identifying challenges to labor law, anticipating changes in the labor market and economy, and developing solutions. For example, during the pandemic, the social partners jointly agreed on temporary amendments to labor laws.
In Europe, the Nordic countries are seen as: Sui generis In terms of quality of working life. A quality labor market model in this context concerns not only the level and content of labor standards and protection, but also the empowerment of workers. Each Scandinavian country has its own characteristics, but overall the Nordic model is characterized by high trade union density, which plays a key role in collective bargaining and orderly industrial relations.
In a well-functioning collective bargaining model, cooperation between the social partners and the government is based on trust. The question in Finland is whether the bargaining model is about to be replaced by a government-led, law-based regulatory approach.
The current political attack is directed at the government. Workers’ organizations are dissatisfied with the content of labor market policy and proposed legal reforms. There is also widespread disappointment with the way reforms are being prepared. At the root of this is a growing concern about the apparent erosion of the tripartite principle.
There is a clear shift in the way governments plan. Rather than outlining strategies or stating goals, they anticipate means to achieve a particular set of goals, such as reforming labor regulations.
This raises the question of whether labor laws can or should be prepared in such a way that they can largely incorporate the contents of government programs. verbatim Legislate. This seems to be the direction of the journey, leaving little room for preparation or social dialogue between the three parties.
Power redistribution
In Finland, like other Nordic countries, the traditionally high trade unionization rate has declined and is now below 60 percent. Labor unions are struggling to maintain their status due to declining membership numbers. As in many other European countries, the distribution of power to and between social partners is under challenge as it seeks to adapt to an increasingly decentralized bargaining system. . These changes can change the relationship between flexibility and security in a number of ways.
The degree of stability and trust also provides an overall picture of the labor market model. Collective bargaining is a guarantee of stability, and a labor market system built on trust has provided a degree of predictability even in times of stress. There is agreement that Finland needs economic growth and that the labor market system must also actively contribute to this growth.
Challenges in professional life only increase. Given the scale of change, agreeing across society on measures that will affect the functioning of the labor market, whether we talk about an overall green transition or companies that combine economic, environmental and social sustainability. That is essential. The choice is between agreement and conflict.
The wave of strikes in Finland is not just a symptom of this upheaval. It also shows that the changes being pushed by governments not only erode the core content of workers’ rights, but also have the potential to jeopardize social models based on trust.
Ulla Lykunen is Professor of Labor Law and Private International Law at the University of Helsinki. She has researched extensively in comparative labor law, international labor law, transnational law, and decent work.