An across-the-board increase under a collective agreement is the most common reason for a pay raise among TEK members. Merit increases are naturally given as well, but they are becoming less common. Considering the numerous terms and conditions of employment that they provide for, collective agreements by no means irrelevant. On the contrary.
Here is a more detailed report on the results of the Labour Market Survey from last autumn. But here’s a little spoiler: The median salary of a Master of Science in a technical field increased by 3.3 per cent from the previous year. An across-the-board increase is by far the most common reason for a pay rise. So the people at TEK’s office do not sit around those negotiation tables for nothing.
The sad thing is that, once again, this increase is not enough to improve the purchasing power of TEK members. According to Statistics Finland, the year-on-year change in consumer prices was 4.9 per cent in October, which is bigger than the increase in median salary.
There has recently been a lot of talk about developing the labour market – some voices have been quite loud whereas others less so. Observing some of these discussions, one sometimes wonders if the participants have ever even read through a single collective agreement. Do they even know what is laid down in collective agreements and what is provided for by law?
Many key terms and conditions are laid down in collective agreements and not in, say, the Finnish law. In addition to the across-the-board increase mentioned above, these terms include paid sick leave, paid parental leave, the possibility to care for a sick child at home for a few days without loss of salary, reimbursement of travel expenses and many other terms.
Many of these negotiated terms and conditions have played a crucial role as Finland has been built and developed into a strong and healthy country. This is yet another reason why collective agreement negotiations deserve our respect and protection.
The article is the editorial of TEK Magazine 1/2024.
