Finnish national deal

The national pay agreement in Finland, agreed in principle at the end of August, has received sufficient backing to come into effect. The unions and employers signing the deal at that time agreed that its terms, and the accompanying government measures to cut taxes, would only apply if enough unions backed it.

By the deadline of 25 October, the SAK union confederation announced that 93% of Finnish employees were covered by agreements in line with the national pact. This provides for a €20 a month increase in the first year and a 0.4% increase in the second, with increases in the third year still to be negotiated.

The settlement seems certain to involve a cut in real pay. But, in the view of SAK president Lauri Lyli, “under current conditions … the primary goal is to create more jobs in Finland”.

€1 was worth 84p on 20 November.