Blog: There’s a time to fight and time to make a deal

Just before announced continuation strike, we made a contract for senior salaried employees in technology industries. The deal was confirmed just in time, three hours before the strike.

There is wisdom in choosing when to fight and when to make a deal. I know that there are plenty of viewpoints. However, the contract is now made and organizations are obliged to defend what they have agreed.

Wages are increased by six percent. This is the same for all personnel groups and their agreements. Additionally there is one-off payment which adds one percent – that is 12,5% from the monthly salary. However, the fact is that general increase is 1,2% lower than for the workers for example. That is something which can’t be explained from white to black. That was primary condition for the employers side.

There is always the final frontier in the negotiations where one must consider what’s on table and what’s the price tag for extra. To make it simple, one must consider how many tenths of percent and their price. How many tenths are worth to take the whole sector a strike?

So within few last days our negotiating body went through considerations of possible losses and potential gains. There was a feeling with back of our heads that there are several tenths of percent between the zero and three.

We did know that getting over the bar set by previous agreements would have been hard or even impossible. There is still pay rise which is greater than in many many years.

I hope that a great achievement is not left overshadowed by the percents of wages. There is a great advance in the paid family leaves. Now other parents, namely fathers, have much longer paid family leave. This is a great step towards more equal working life.

When bargaining you always lose some and gain some. Thus, there was shortening of minimum negotiation times in change situations. This can be problematic, but we hope that companies will find good ways to apply this.

Summa summarum. There is a time for fighting and a time for striking a deal. Now was time ripe for the latter. There is still plenty of contracts to make and now I hope that now we can make them quite quickly.

Originally published on Union of Professional Engineers in Finland’s website.

YTN and Technology Industry Employers of Finland approved the National Conciliator’s settlement proposal on 14 February. Therefore the previously announced strike on 15-17 February in the technology industry is cancelled and the overtime ban has also ended.