Employers Want Short-Term Recession Contracts

The employers' organisation Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) is calling for unions to agree to short-term contracts in order to better react to the ups and downs of the current recession.

Many sectors are having difficulties agreeing on new worker contracts because of the financial uncertainly.

"I think the idea to make short-term wage contracts is not a bad idea in this situation," says the EK's Director of Industrial Relations, Eeva-Liisa Inkeroinen. "We have no idea when Finland's economy and employment will rebound. Now we need to take a breather at the negotiating table and see if there's a better outlook in a year or so."

At the moment, around 90,000 workers are without contracts as negotiations on wages and working conditions in their profession are still underway. With agreements in other sectors also running out, this number may double in November if new contracts aren't agreed upon soon.