Technology Industry Employers of Finland has started up – the association will negotiate national collective agreements in the sector

Technology Industry Employers of Finland was established last winter, when Technology Industries of Finland decided to transfer the nationwide collective bargaining activities to  another association. The rule change was finally adopted today, Tuesday 10 August.

The change will provide companies with more options for making agreements, as terms and conditions of employment can now be agreed on as before by way of national collective agreements (companies who have joined Technology Industry Employers of Finland), or then companies can negotiate their own company-specific terms and conditions (companies who are only members of Technology Industries of Finland).

“Cooperation, mutual agreement and taking company-specific needs into account will form the mainstays of both agreement options. Technology Industry Employers of Finland is the right place for companies that consider national agreements to be the best option for them and want to be involved in reforming these agreements,” says Jarkko Ruohoniemi, the association’s CEO.

Ruohoniemi says that the new association’s main objective is to continue the reform of collective agreements in the sector, while also ensuring that companies retain their cost competitiveness.

“Although the world is changing and working life is evolving rapidly, the labour market system has been slow to react. Although there has already been some good cooperation, we still have a lot of work to do. The majority of these terms and conditions were agreed on before Finland joined the European Union, and were tailored to meet the needs of the 1970s and 1980s.”

Cost competitiveness will also be a particular concern this autumn.

“Although the Finnish economy has in general recovered fairly well from the coronavirus, not all companies are in such a good position. Labour market history indicates that the worst mistakes with regard to employment and competitiveness were made in Finland at the height of the boom. Patience, wisdom and good judgment are required. Similarly, it’s worth remembering that economic forecasts predict fairly weak growth for Finland over the longer term, due to our age structure and other structural issues,” says Ruohoniemi.

Further information:
Jarkko Ruohoniemi, CEO, tel. +358 (0)40 833 9577