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The trade union Nousu’s new website has now been opened and they follow the union’s new visual look and colours. The new logo has also been put to it’s rightful place. As well as the website, new visual outlook and logo was decided to update in the same, as the previous graphic guidelines served for almost 18 years, since the birth of trade union Nousu.

With the modernization of the website, the structure has been clarified and is intended to better serve communication. As a new feature, you can read some of the news and articles in Swedish or English by selecting the language you want via the flag icon.

 Are You following us on social media? You can find Nousu on Facebook as Nousury or on Instagram @ammattiyhdistysnousu.

Best wishes  

Trade union Nousu ry

Kari Ahola

President

Joanna Koskinen

Vice President

There is no end to the flow of gloomy financial news. Factories are closing, operations are being reduced, staff are being laid off temporarily or for good. The effects of the pandemic on the economy are undeniable, but the measures taken by all companies to reduce staff are by no means due to coronavirus.

For years, in order to maximize the efficiency of companies and shareholder returns, companies have looked to relocating operations outside of Finland. The aim, of course, is to reduce labour costs. As a result, hundreds of people of working age have been forced to leave their jobs in companies whose performance, measured by almost any measure, has been excellent.

This is also the case at Nordea. Finding transferable functions has become an everyday way to “develop” operations. This week, a new batch of employees has heard that they are in danger of losing their jobs, as Nordea has started co-operation negotiations to reduce a total of 37 jobs. In addition, negotiation proposals for six people’s jobs were issued in August. All reductions will once again apply to business support units. The negotiations are due to be completed before Christmas, when information about the loss of a job will come to the staff as an unwanted Christmas present.

Why aren’t the reductions discussed in public?

Employee representatives are often asked why ongoing staff reductions are not made public. Those asking are often the staff who are laid off and those who are scared and wondering “is it my turn next?” The answer is harsh: only sufficiently large figures exceed the news threshold. While it is unlikely that reaching the headlines would change the decision already made by the company, it would bring more attention to the issue and perhaps increase consideration when drawing up future development plans.

Especially in a situation in which there are already well over 200,000 unemployed jobseekers in the labour market, it is irresponsible to relocate to Poland and Estonia in pursuit of lower labour costs. It is therefore not a question of reducing work by automation or robotisation, but of work that still requires human hands to do. However, hands alone are not enough, but a head and experience are also needed to understand the whole and the implications of various actions. Therefore, the most skilled hands are those working right now. In Finland.

In Nordea’s other business area in Finland, the situation is quite the opposite. Current human resources are not sufficient to meet demand. For example, demand for mortgages from private customers is at record levels. Due to staff shortages, dozens of advisors are constantly working overtime. Resources are scarce because the situation has been going on for a very long time. Of course, it is great that there are enough customers and Nordea is perceived as a bank with which you want to manage your own finances. However, running a core business on overtime is unsustainable.

There is a public debate about training existing staff for new roles. An influential party has even given the impression that, in the current crisis, it would be an excellent opportunity to check who is really needed in the company and to get rid of those with lacking skills. The responsibility for maintaining work skills lies with everyone. One must be willing to learn new things and update their skills. But equally, all responsibility also lies with the employer, who makes decisions about business development. A responsible employer makes sure that its staff knows where the company is going and what kind of skills are needed, in addition to providing the necessary training.

According to the Employment Contracts Act, in the event of redundancies, the employer must provide the employee with the training required for the new duties that can be considered appropriate and reasonable for both parties. Despite this, efforts to ensure the continuity of the work of the company’s existing staff remain very meagre. The rapid pace of change is used as an argument, leaving no time to organise reasonable training. That will certainly be the case if staff development and resource management are very short-term. By anticipating even half a year ahead, many unnecessary reduction projects could be avoided and skilled personnel in one’s own company could be employed for new tasks in accordance with the changed needs.

The chief shop steward’s office

Since the beginning of the year, Nordea has launched co-operation negotiations leading to redundancies in centralised units every month in order to reduce its number of staff. Nordea’s objective in all of these negotiations is to achieve cost savings by moving work to countries with lower labour costs or by reorganising units. Nine of the negotiation procedures that started in January were brought to an end in March, resulting in 38 people losing their jobs. At the same time, two new staff reduction undertakings where started, this time with the aim of reducing 18 jobs among a group of 89 people. April’s proposals continued along the same lines with two new negotiation proposals aimed at reducing 23 jobs in a target group of 80 people. In addition, one negotiation procedure ended with the result of reducing the jobs of three people instead of the proposed six. The outcome of the negotiations completed at Nordea Finance will result in 8 employees being made redundant. Additionally, 16 fixed-term employment relationships will come to an end.

In short, there have been 17 negotiation proposals within the Group since the beginning of the year, threatening a total of 136 jobs. Of these, 11 negotiations have been completed, resulting in 40 people losing their jobs in the bank and 8 in Nordea Finance. In addition, several fixed-term employment relationships will end. There are currently five negotiations under way at the bank, threatening the end of 44 people’s jobs. Nousu Trade Union will not accept the moving of jobs from Finland to countries with lower labour costs and the consequent dismissal of Finnish employees. The reduction of jobs also cannot be founded on assumptions about the effects of changes. In a large company like Nordea, it must be possible to place skilful employees in new tasks.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been unpredictable in the workplace. Companies have not been able to prepare themselves very well for societal changes like this and have consequently had to quickly revise their modes of operation and working conditions to meet the requirements of the new situation. At all levels of negotiation including top management, Nousu has challenged the reasons for the decisions made to reduce staff in these changed circumstances. When the working conditions are different to those in place when the plans were made, the situation should be reassessed along with the effects of the new working environment on the decisions. At the very least, the implementation schedule for the projects should be reassessed, if not the entire reason for their implementation. In some branches, this has been done and reassessments of projects already launched have been begun. In one case, the management’s decision after the co-operation negotiations was not to implement the dismissal of six persons. The implementation of some projects has also been put back. We consider this a highly responsible way to act and, for both risk management and the staff, a fundamentally better way to operate.

Despite the fact that there are several co-operation negotiations constantly under way within the Group, the amount of work to be done is so large that overtime work is offered at many units to ensure it gets done. Sometimes overtime work is even offered in the same unit where co-operation negotiations have been begun or reduction decisions have already been made. There is something fundamentally wrong with an equation where staff is being reduced when the amount of work is so large that it is difficult or impossible to complete it within normal working hours. In some departments, people are even competing for overtime work! The reason they do is evident: to increase their modest income. If anything, overtime work is offered in some places as a rule rather than as the exception it should be. The daily workload is tough. Often quick changes in working conditions and ways of working cause extra pressure. We have observed the staff being flexible and stretching themselves according to the situation at hand while striving to do their best to serve customers in every unit. We have shared our worries about employees’ well-being with the management. Staff is the vital resource that makes customer service possible, even in a crisis.

Due to the coronavirus, many people have had to start working remotely from home. Many have found this a welcome opportunity that makes it easier to organise, for example, their private life. For those facing the threat of redundancy, however, this may mean that redundancy consultations take place via remote access. Despite the tight restrictions on movement and meetings, we have been able to agree in Finland that if a person wants these consultations to take place physically, this must be made possible. We have been involved in a Nordic team that charted the best practices for consultations via remote access during the exceptional situation posed by the coronavirus. This work paid special attention to ensuring sufficient support for people under the threat of redundancy. Supervisors seldom know the exact nature of an employee’s private life. That is why it is particularly important to make sure that no one is left to cope alone. Everyone has the chance to have a support person along to help them in consultations relating to redundancy. No one should tackle negotiations that will have a fundamental effect on their future alone; instead, we recommend members always take along a shop steward. The shop steward will also provide information and guidance during the preparations for the consultation and will support you with your personal decision-making. Nousu’s network of shop stewards is available to members facing changes in their working life, however difficult the situation.

On the 31st of March 2020, a new Collective Agreement for the financial sector was achieved after the parties involved accepted the negotiation result brought about last week. The negotiations were difficult right from the start and, towards the end, took place remotely. When the corona crisis hit Finland, achieving an agreement without delay became important for all parties.

The Collective Agreement will be valid for 25 months and includes an agreement on pay increases of 3.3% for the agreement period in line with other sectors in the country.

Pay increases will take place for the first time from the 1st of May 2020 with a 1.2% across-the-board rise.

In 2021, pay increases will take place starting on the 1st of May 2021 with a 0.45% across-the-board rise and a 1.65% pay discussion element. A different date for the pay discussion element may be agreed locally. Salaries will be developed to better correspond to the increase in the difficulty of the work in the sector.

”The difficulty of the work carried out in the financial sector has increased significantly since the qualification categorisation was compiled for the collective agreement. It is important to develop salaries in this sector so that they better correspond to today’s requirements. For this reason, full increases of minimum wages, raising the lowest salaries and paying pay discussion salary increases on top of the pay grade table rise are steps in the right direction. Work will be continued as team work during the agreement period,” says trade union Chairman Kari Ahola.

Unpaid voluntary work will be removed from the financial sector’s Collective Agreement on the 1st of July 2020 when the necessary system changes have been implemented. The impairments sought by employers, for example, to salary payment during absence due to illness, extra days off and the lengthening of working hours on Maundy Thursday and New Year’s Eve were successfully prevented.

In the new Collective Agreement, investments in the competence development of the entire personnel were agreed on. In future, a maximum of 24 hours a calendar year can be used for training in addition to regular working hours, within certain limits. These additional hours will be added to regular working hours and basic hourly wage will be paid for them, without an increment for inconvenient working hours or other bonuses.

“The investments to be made in competence development will give everyone the opportunity for continuous learning and training in an ever-changing work environment. The practical arrangements for developing competence also take into account the considerations of matching work and private life. In this regard, the stipulations of the new Collective Agreement are exceptionally good, compared to other sectors,” says Ahola.

You can find more detailed information about the contents of the Collective Agreement in Unio’s member bulletin.

For more information contact:

Chairman Kari Ahola, tel. +358 (0)50 324 1458

Executive Director Minna Ahtiainen, tel. +358 (0)50 387 7030