News

It is important for Aleksi Vehmassalo, an early childhood education teacher, to offer children a safe childhood and growth environment. His work is guided by equality, children’s joy, and the relevance of work. He has a clear solution for the shortage of teachers in the sector.

Finns consider teachers to be one of the most important occupational groups for the country's future. Almost everyone appreciates the work done by teachers very much. The information is based on a study by Taloustutkimus market research company commissioned by OAJ. OAJ's Chairman Olli Luukkainen is happy with the results but reminds that appreciation must also be shown by deeds.

OAJ's Executive Board has awarded the the Education Influencer of the year award to all Finnish teachers. Olli Luukkainen, the President of the OAJ, announced the recipients of the recognition at the teaching and education sector event Educa that was held online this year.

The special regulations applicable to the working hours of early childhood education teachers and special teachers working at private daycare centres as well as the heads of daycare centres will remain nearly the same for the next two years.

The Kiky hours in their current form will be removed from the state special education institutions’ teaching staff from 1 August onwards. For other employees covered by the Collective Agreement for State Civil Servants and Employees Under Contract, the hours will be removed from 1 October onwards. The Kiky negotiation result concerning the state special education institutions’ teaching staff was reached last week in negotiations with the Office for the Government as Employer.

The AVAINTES collective agreement, negotiated by OAJ and Avainta Employers, is in line with the labour market’s general policy. The duration of the agreement period, beginning retrospectively on 1 April, is 23 months and the agreement’s total amount of salary increases corresponds with the general policy. The working time regulations of the Competitiveness Pact will be removed from 17 August 2020 onwards.

The negotiating organisation Sote, which comprises Tehy and Super, blocked the public sector employees’ conciliation solution. Now, Public Sector Professionals JUKO is proposing to negotiate with Local Government Employers without Sote.

An outcome in line with the general policy was reached in the collective agreement negotiations for state civil servants and employees early on Tuesday night. The length of the agreement period is 23 months starting on 1 April 2020. The pay settlement follows general policy.

An outcome was reached in the collective agreement negotiations for state civil servants and employees under contract today. The achieved solution applies to 600 members of the OAJ.

The private education sector agreement, negotiated by OAJ and the Finnish Education Employers, is in line with the labour market’s general policy. The working time regulations of the Competitiveness Pact will be removed. The duration of the agreement period, beginning on 1 April, is 24 months and the cost impact of the agreement is 3.2 per cent.

A collective bargaining result was reached at the university sector on March 22, 2020. The content can now be published after all negotiating parties have accepted the result. The new collective agreement is in effect for 24 months, from April 1, 2020 until March 31, 2022.

The negotiations regarding the private education sector between OAJ and the Finnish Education Employers were finalised last night as the parties were able to agree on a solution. At the same time, an agreement concerning teachers at adult education centres was reached. This solution applies to more than 8,000 members of the OAJ.

Basic education, upper secondary education, adult education and higher education units are switching to distance learning in order to slow down the spreading of the coronavirus. The educational institutions will switch to remote teaching latest on 18 March in accordance with the Ministry of Education and Culture’s recommendation. OAJ stands by the Government’s policy and regards the ensuring of the teachers’ health and livelihood as extremely important during such exceptional circumstances.

As with all other sectors of the society, the coronavirus epidemic is causing changes to the currently on-going collective agreement negotiations. The negotiations are on-going in all OAJ agreement sectors and the changing situation is monitored on a daily basis.