University sector collective agreement negotiations continued on Thursday
The negotiations on the collective agreement for approximately 34,000 university employees continued on Thursday 3 March.
“Today we talked about the collective agreement’s working time figures for other staff, and for teaching and research staff,” JUKO Head of Collective Bargaining Katja Aho says.
Regarding other specialist staff, JUKO’s goal is for the provisions of the collective agreement to give better recognition to remote and multi-locational work and to work done while travelling.
“Remote work is a normal way of working, and Covid has shown that it also works in a university setting. For us it’s important that an employer treats people working in the same position or doing the same work equally when it comes to remote work,” Aho emphasizes.
In relation to teaching and research staff, JUKO is aiming for a change in the collective bargaining provisions to better support the diversification of teaching, take account of the rise in contact hours, and enable teaching staff’s research.
“Teaching and research staff must have the working conditions that enable them to conduct long-term research. Fundamental research strengthens our society’s knowledge base and crisis resistance,” the chairperson of the university advisory committee, Tarja Niemelä (Finnish Union of University Professors), stresses.
The negotiations will continue on 10 March.
Negotiations in focus across all our channels
We will be publishing updates about the collective agreement negotiations on our website, www.juko.fi. Follow us and the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @JUKOry, using the hashtags #neuvotellen2022 #yliopisto #meolemmeyliopisto. We have content about the negotiations aimed at young adults on our Instagram account, @juko_ry.
Collective agreements | Universities’ general collective agreement and the teacher training school collective agreement
Negotiators | head of collective bargaining Katja Aho (JUKO), university advisory board chairperson and executive director Tarja Niemelä (Finnish Union of University Professors), special adviser Hanna Tanskanen (Trade Union of Education in Finland, OAJ), negotiations manager Petri Toiviainen (Social Science Professionals) and Director of Advocacy Mia Weckman (Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers)
Main contractual parties | JUKO, Pro Trade Union, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, and Finnish Education Employers
The universities’ general collective agreement covers an approximate 34,000 employees.
More information:
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Aaro Riitakorpi
Public affairs manager, chief negotiator