The Basic Terms and Conditions of Employment in Finland

Regulations secure the minimum terms and conditions, regardless of salaries. A minimum wage is set in the collective agreement, but some collective agreements contain a fluctuating amount of additional employee benefits. UJF has negotiated with different employer's unions on several different collective agreements:

In addition, UJF negotiates with YLE and MTV3 for the terms and conditions regarding freelance work in radio and television, such as with commission rates.

The collective agreements among journalists differ in many ways from one another. The following topic is a collection of the general stipulations in the collective agreements for journalists.

Working hours

Daily working hours average 7.5 hours.

Weekly working hours average 37.5 hours. (37 hours at YLE).

The work week includes two free days. Annually, national holidays add 7 -12 additional free days (such as New Year, Easter, May Day, Midsummer, Independence Day and Christmas).

Overtime is paid for any work exceeding regular working hours (generally double salary, although some agreements stipulate that a 50 % increased salary be paid for the first few hours).

Double salary is paid for all work done on Sundays.

Increased salary is paid for all evening and night shifts. (For example: YLE, 15 % for early evening shifts, 30 % for late evening shifts and 50 % for night shifts.)

Salary

The average monthly income for a journalist was in April 2008 (€/month):

The wage spread in the field of journalism is currently quite significant. The highest earning 10% of all the members earn an average of € 4.200,- per month, while the lowest 10% earns an average of € 2.226,- per month. Fresh statistics for spring 2010 will be available late summer 2010.

Men earn more in journalism as well. While male members earns one euro, women earns 93 cents.

The minimum wage for media trainees is 70 - 85 % of the general minimum wage. The training period generally lasts less than one year; less or none for those with a university degree.

Holidays

The annual holidays for journalists are better than the law calls for in Finland. After the first year of employment, the annual holiday is four weeks and the winter holiday is an additional week. After two years, the annual holiday is five weeks and the winter holiday is an additional week.

After ten years of employment in most areas of journalism, the worker is entitled to an additional week of holiday. Those employed in the press industry can receive additional holiday time for a certain amount of evening and night shifts worked.

Employees receive holiday pay equaling a 50 % increase over their base salary.

Pension

The general retirement age in Finland is 65 years. Full retirement pension equals 60 % of the final earned salary.

Some employers in the field of journalism have a private pension trust, which offers better benefits. It is possible for the retirement age to be 63 or 60 years and for pension to equal 66 % of the final earned salary.

In Finland, there are many options for retiring early so that the full retirement pension is decreased only slightly. In fact, the majority of journalists retire around 60 years of age. It is also quite common to receive partial pension by shifting to part-time work at 56 years of age.

Copyright

The copyright for a journalist's work is agreed upon in several ways - both in the collective agreement as well as through agreement within the company.

The collective agreement for the press gives full copyright to the publisher to use articles, photographs and drawings in a publication or publications which are covered by the contract for employment. The right of use covers the publisher's electronic communications and Internet publications as well. Any use outside of these specific stipulations must be agreed upon separately with the journalist.

Within a company, there are also several ways in which broader rights are agreed upon for the publisher. There is considerable fluctuation in the remuneration paid to journalists for their work. Companies have acquired the right to use materials by establishing fixed lump sums, permanent salary increases, training and scholarship programmes or by paying royalties to the journalist for such instances as in the sale of a television programme.

Other conditions

The collective agreement of Finnish Journalists stipulates that journalists reserve the right to refuse any task which falls outside of the professional ethics of journalism. Journalists cannot incorporate advertising text into their work, nor can they be obliged to do so.

In the media profession, there are more specific regulations than the law requires for paying salary during times of sick leave or parental leave. For example, an employee who has worked in a certain press company for a period of five years in succession receives full salary for a total of four months sick leave.

The media profession has established a variety of training programmes. The press allows journalists the right to reserve two days a year for personal training, the contents of which are agreed upon with the employer. YLE and MTV3 have particularly broad training programmes, which enable journalists to study up to several months whilst receiving their salary.

Employers are obliged to uphold the laws stipulating the employees' protection against summary dismissal. The term of notice for a new employee is one month, after which time the period lengthens in stages so that an employee who has worked for a company for 15 years receives a six months term of notice. The employer must justify the term of notice.

Organisation activities

The employer is obligated to collect the membership fee from the salaries of all members of the Union of Journalists in Finland and render an account for the Union.

Employees who are members of the body of the Union (Union Meeting, Union Council, Union Board, Union Committees) may participate in organisation meetings during working hours.

Shop stewards

The media departments of each company select a shop steward, who is bound by collective agreement to represent the other employees in discussions with the employer.

The shop steward represents and assists individuals who have a disagreement with the employer. The shop steward ensures that the employer acts according to the terms stipulated in the collective agreement. At regular intervals, the company supplies the shop steward with information on the wage levels of the staff.

The shop steward may withdraw from his or her work tasks in order to fulfil negotiation duties. In the three largest media companies (YLE, Sanoma Company, and MTV3), shop steward is a full-time position. The employer pays additional salary for all shop steward tasks and the employees' protection against summary dismissal, as it relates to shop stewards, is much stricter.