2/2010

Editorial

Waiting for summer and
strawberries

Kerttu Pellinen
Chairman of the Association of the Finnish University and Research Establishment Staff (YHL)
Photo Markus Sommers

The collective agreements applied to YHL’s members were negotiated and approved this spring. The collective agreement for state civil servants and employees under contract and the LTY general agreement were drawn up, the universities’ agreement was signed in April, as was the intra-agency collective agreement for science administration and right at the end of the month the collective agreement for Certia was signed. Both the universities’ and Certia agreements are completely new and implementing the changes included in them is only beginning. University-specific shop steward agreements are under negotiation so the situation has not yet fully normalised. It can be hoped that this situation, which has been unresolved since the beginning of the year, does not continue for much longer. There has been a definite need for shop stewards and co-operation representatives this year and they are needed more than ever before.

Despite the successful contract negotiations, the balancing of the books for this spring cannot be considered positive from the personnel’s point of view. Purely positive aspects are very difficult to find to counterbalance the projects aimed at reducing the number of personnel and the universities’ and government agencies’ financial problems.

The university reform produced insecurity for the personnel and concern for the future. Reorganisation and increase of duties resulting from administrative and structural changes are well known to everybody. No effort seems to be enough – anxiety, culminating even in some cases in illness, follows. The traditional “co-operation negotiations” aimed at reducing the number of staff are conducted in many quarters, both in large and smaller circles. Changes are implemented one after the other. These changes have surely been planned somewhere but usually nobody is bothered to tell the personnel about them. Where are the co-operation negotiations aimed at positive development of both personnel and operations? Do the new university culture and the “even better” personnel policies include such aspects? Are structural changes and changes in duties and departments matters which deserve nothing more than notifications? Are the university personnel no longer the experts of their own work? There are sure to be some positive aspects but in these current circumstances they are easily overlooked.

Coping at work and looking after one’s health are basic issues in wellbeing at work; each employee best knows their personal limits of coping. The tools for coping at work are specified, among other sources, in collective agreements and legislation pertaining to working life. The agreement on working hours and the Working Hours Act spring to mind as those easily implemented. How about making a new year’s resolution in the middle of the year: Let us follow working hours, let’s be flexible when the job requires that but let us not do any grey overtime. This applies to both employees with families and to those with no family who have a tendency of functioning as supplementary flexible elements regarding working hours at the workplace. Starting at the beginning of August, the university personnel have only one set of working hours. Regular salary is paid in accordance with regular hours and if more work needs to be done, an appropriate compensation must be paid for it. By doing grey overtime we provide systems tracking working hours, superiors and financiers a faulty impression of the amount of work we do. Let’s not do that, it does no good for anybody.

Take good care of yourselves!