A result was reached in the collective agreement negotiations of universities during the late evening of Monday, 8 March 2010.
The result provides reasonable security in key employment terms. In the final stage of the negotiations, the employer agreed to forfeit the extensive working time flexibility arrangements, cuts in sick pay and a number of other targets for cuts.
What follows are the new agreement’s key changes in comparison to the previous collective agreement.
Working time
The main change in working time is the adoption of one common working time of an average of max. 7 hours 15 minutes per day and 36 hours 15 minutes per week. This is a decrease of two hours per week for those currently on weekly working time. These groups involve laboratory personnel, caretakers and property management personnel. The two-hour cut will be adopted on 1 August 2010.
In terms of flexibility in working time, the new agreement is reasonable. The use of flexible working time is carefully specified and, in practice, will not lead to significant changes in working time arrangements.
In the teachers’ working time system, the majority of researchers will adopt the 1,600-hour total working time.
Annual leaves
The new agreement does not involve any changes in annual leaves. Annual leave rules will continue to comply with the state employees’ annual leave agreement in terms of the number of days and in other respects.
Sick pay
In terms of sick pay, the rules for public servants and employees employed on a standard contract were harmonised. The solution was reached as a result of the organisations’ proposal to ensure payment in all cases for a period of one year.
Changes in the salary system process
In future, periodical assessments will be carried out at two-year intervals. Pay rises which are based on performance assessments will enter into force for all personnel groups from 1 June and will be based on periodical assessments. If the competence level of the task changes, the initial assessment will be carried out immediately, and the consequent change in performance level will become valid with immediate effect. However, the total salary must not fall at this stage if the competence level of the task increases.
The agreement confirms the employer’s obligation to reassess the task competence at the request of employees.
No changes were made in the assessment systems.
Fixed term
The collective agreement now includes a rule which states that a fixed-term contract may be entered into on grounds specified in the law. This means that in future, disputes about the grounds for fixed-term contracts can be brought before the regular dispute process of the agreement parties and, if necessary, before the Labour Court.
Family leaves
The agreement includes week-long paid paternity leave and the extension of the paid portion of temporary medical leaves (child’s illness) from the current three to four days.
Agreement-based increases were agreed to in accordance with the cost effect of the state agreement.
A pay increase for 2010 was agreed for 1 November 2010 at a rate of 0.98%. It includes a 0.4% general increase and a 0.58% instalment for the development of the salary system. In addition, a 5.5% lump sum of the monthly salary will be paid in conjunction with November payments.
The lump sum compensates for the postponement of pay increases from this spring to the beginning of November, and as such it is a retrospective payment of agreed increases, and not a Christmas bonus.
Agreement-based increases correspond to the level of 2010 state agreement increases.
The agreement will be in force from 1 March 2010-29 February 2012. The 2011 increases will be negotiated by the end of February 2011. If no agreement is reached in these negotiations, the collective agreement can be terminated on 28 February 2011.
Working groups for the agreement term
Four working groups were set up for the agreement term.
The salary system development group will draft a proposal on the development of the salary system and guidelines for its application by 15 October 2010.
The fixed-term employment working group will aim to clarify the principles for using fixed-term employment contracts. The working group will take into account equality issues in its tasks.
The cooperation and occupational safety working group will review and prepare its guidelines by 31 March 2011.
The statistics cooperation group will develop joint information and statistical needs.
Adoption of the agreement
The negotiation result will require the approval of the board of Pardia. The board will discuss the result in its meeting on 24 March. Prior to that, the agreement will be reviewed by the board and by the council of the Association of Finnish University and Research Establishment Staff.
