On January 26, the labour market confederations decided to start negotiating again for the fifth time regarding the proposed labour market reforms. The aim is to reach a social pact in order to avoid the Finnish government’s threats of implementing the Imperative legislation as well as weakening the rights of employees and expand the level of local agreements.

The Finnish governments proposal includes cutting the holiday rights, making the first day of sick leave unpaid and cutting holiday bonuses. Also, trade unions will not have the right to agree on better terms. This would highly restrict the freedom of trade unions.

The proposals also suggest to prolong fixed terms contract and trial periods, shorten the re-employment obligation after collective dismissal as well as remove the obligation for non-organized employers to follow the general collective agreements.