Negotiations on the university collective agreement began on Friday

Negotiations on a new collective agreement have now begun for the university sector. The employees’ and employers’ representatives submitted their negotiating goals at the Akava union’s headquarters in Helsinki on Friday 11 February. At the same time, the parties gave notice for termination of the current collective agreement, effective 31 March.

Of the sectors on behalf of which JUKO negotiates, the universities were among the last to begin their negotiations, as the universities’ collective agreement expires a month later than those in the municipal, state and church sectors.

The collective agreement for teacher training schools also expires at the end of March.

Clear goals

The head of collective bargaining for the university sector at JUKO, Katja Aho, says the employees’ goals are clear.

- Our key goals concern improved working conditions, reduced use of fixed-term contracts, clearer ground rules on remote and multi-locational work and the transposition of the family leave reform into the collective agreement.”

In terms of pay rises, JUKO has traditionally sought general increases in percentages, thus ensuring all staff groups see their salaries progress. The specific aims regarding salary increases will be confirmed as the negotiations progress.

The negotiations will resume on 15 February.

Negotiations in focus across all our channels

We will be publishing updates about the collective agreement negotiations on our website. Follow us and the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @JUKOry, using the hashtags #neuvotellen2022 #yliopisto #meolemmeyliopisto. We have content about the negotiations aimed at young adults on our Instagram account, @juko_ry.

The Collective Agreement Campaign website, from JUKO and the relevant unions representing university staff, explains the significance and content of the collective agreement to university staff: www.tyoehtosoppa.fi.

University Facts

Collective agreements | Universities’ general collective agreement and the teacher training school collective agreement

Negotiators | head of collective bargaining Katja Aho (JUKO), university advisory board chairperson and executive director Tarja Niemelä (Finnish Union of University Professors), special adviser Hanna Tanskanen (Trade Union of Education in Finland, OAJ), negotiations manager Petri Toiviainen (Social Science Professionals) and Director of Advocacy Mia Weckman (Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers)

Main contractual parties | JUKO, Pro Trade Union, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, and Finnish Education Employers

The universities’ general collective agreement covers an approximate 34,000 employees.

Why do collective agreement negotiations happen?

• The employee unions and employer federation negotiate a collective agreement which contains many labour provisions not found in legislation.
• They agree in the negotiations on issues such as pay rises, teaching and research employees’ total working time, and working time and annual leave provisions for other specialist staff. The collective agreement sets a base level of contractual terms which can then be improved upon in more specific agreements at an organizational level.

• The collective agreement provides qualitative and monetarily defined benefits. Negotiations typically discuss the qualitative goals and their possible cost impacts first, before turning to agreement on salaries in the final stage.

JUKO, the Negotiation Organization for Public Sector Professionals, negotiates collective agreements on behalf of, and thus represents, 200,000 members of Akava member unions. We bargain collectively on behalf of employees and officials of the municipalities, the state, social services and healthcare, the universities, the church, Avainta sectors*, as well as in the National Gallery and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

*Private companies and foundations operating under the aegis of municipalities, as well as private service providers for the municipalities.