Local bargaining takes off at moderate pace

After the legislative amendment at the beginning of the year, local bargaining at workplaces has taken off at a moderate pace. So far, 24 local agreements have been submitted to the occupational safety and health authority by non-organised workplaces. 

The most typical topic of a local agreement has been the phasing or targeting of general pay increases in various industrial sectors. Other agreements have applied to such things as working time systems, transfer of everyday leave and reimbursement of travel expenses. 

The largest number of local agreements have been submitted by companies in industry’s various sectors. In addition, individual contracts have been submitted in the nursery garden sector and bakery sector. Local agreements have been concluded for both employee and manager groups. 

The possibilities for local bargaining expanded with the amendments to law at the beginning of year Due to a transitional provision, local bargaining within the framework of universally binding collective agreements has only been possible on the basis of collective agreements concluded after 1 January 2025.

Agreements to be submitted via the occupational safety and health e-service

Unorganised employers must conclude local agreements in writing and submit this agreement to the occupational safety and health authority within one month of its conclusion. Agreements should be submitted via the occupational safety and health e-service. For instructions, see Notification of local agreement.

A financial sanction of EUR 1,000 to 10,000 may be imposed for neglecting the obligation to submit the agreement.

The occupational safety and health authority supervises and provides advice

The occupational safety and health authority is responsible for supervising compliance with the generally applicable collective agreement. Local agreements based on these are also part of occupational safety and health enforcement. Issues related to both the content of the agreement and the parties to the agreement are taken into account in the supervision. In addition, the agreements can be used to target supervision, for example, if it is observed that the use of night work is increasing in a certain sector. 

In 2025, the occupational safety and health authorities will systematically monitor the local agreements submitted. In the future, local agreements will be used for targeting supervision, and they may also be monitored as a sampling.

The occupational safety and health authority’s instructions on local bargaining can be found on the Local agreements web page. A recording of the webinar on the topic can be viewed on the web page Verkkoseminaari: Paikallinen sopiminen (Webinar: Local agreements).

 

Contacts

Lawyer Aki Eriksson
tel. +358 295 017 612, [email protected]
Occupational Safety and Health Division, Regional State Administrative Agency for Southwestern Finland