A new collective agreement has been reached for universities. Trade Union Pro, Negotiation Organisation for Public Sector Professionals JUKO and Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL and Finnish Education Employers Sivista have accepted the settlement proposal submitted by the national mediator. The new collective agreement will enter into force on 21 May.
Consequently next week's strikes at the Universities of Helsinki and Turku will be cancelled.
The new collective agreement for universities is three years long. Salaries will be increased by a total of 7.8 percent during the agreement period. A significant part of the agreed increases, 6.7%, is a general increase.
– The negotiation round has been exceptionally difficult and there were over 30 rounds of negotiations. We had to seek a solution to the labour dispute through a strike. The previous time this happened was 7 years ago. Thanks to the joint efforts of our members, however, university staff are receiving the raises they deserve and the disagreement regarding the teaching hour cap was resolved through an experiment, says Ira Kyntäjä, National Collective Agreement Specialist.
There are 13 universities in Finland, employing a total of 35,000 people. Pro members work in a variety of expert and support positions at universities, including faculties, libraries, student administration and university services.