A new collective agreement concerning the personnel of universities of applied sciences was concluded approximately a year ago at the end of February. The agreement is for two years and is valid until 31 March 2026. If the parties cannot reach an agreement on salary increases, the parties may terminate the agreement from 30 April 2025.
If the agreement is terminated and expires, the parties are in a state of non-agreement. The terms and conditions of a terminated collective agreement must still be complied with until a new collective agreement has been concluded, but, for example, the obligation to maintain industrial peace would not be valid.
– The situation is now somewhat different than it was a year ago. The impact of inflation on purchasing power is now moderate, whereas last year it was hard on the consumers’ wallets. Also, there are so far no details known of the salary solutions for any so-called export sector that would help in the negotiations that are starting. A significant number of other OAJ agreements will expire during the spring, and the Finnish government’s active participation in labour market issues naturally brings its own challenges to the situation, says Pasi Repo, OAJ’s Chief of Negotiations.
OAJ will be seeking a salary solution that improves purchasing power in the salary review negotiations.
