The universities’ general collective agreement is an agreement on the conditions for people working at universities. JUKO (the Negotiation Organization for Public Sector Professionals), representing employees, and Finnish Education Employers negotiate on the contents of the agreement. Because this is a true agreement, it means that all its provisions are the result of long negotiations.
Every two years, the full range of terms is renegotiated: working hours, paid family leave, sick leave pay, annual leave, teaching hour caps and staff representatives. If these negotiations did not happen, employees’ terms would be set by labour legislation. Saturday would no longer be considered a working and consequently it would use up a holiday leave day, compensation for family leave would be paid by Kela only and the employer would decide on the number of teaching hours.
A good soup consists of the best ingredients, and a nourishing soup gives you the strength to do long working days. Likewise, a good collective agreement consists of good, fair terms. Collective agreements develop working life, and their effects also extends to leisure time. They also reflect social changes, such as the rise in working from home due to Covid or the family leave reform in the pipeline, which will bring parents flexibility.
Both employers and employees need a collective agreement, as it brings well-being and stability to working life and helps both organizations and employees plan for their future.
We have all the tools at our disposal to create a collective agreement that is fit for purpose. So, let’s dip our spoons into the soup, not to stir the pot but to make the collective agreement better than ever before, through negotiation and agreement. The chefs are the best experts of working life: our negotiation organization, JUKO, and the unions. If you are not yet a member of a union, contact the shop steward in your workplace. You can only be involved in developing and defending the collective agreement as a union member!
