Why do we need collective agreements?

Collective Agreements are made for agreeing on the minimum terms of employment. The agreement is binding for the members of the federations that are parties to it – member associations as well as individual companies and employees. A universally binding collective agreement is also binding to non-organised companies in the industry.

Absolute industrial peace

Collective agreements include an obligation to maintain industrial peace. The law forbids any action against collective agreements that supports one’s own interpretation in an industrial strife or demands that exceed the stipulations of the collective agreement.

The agreements for the Media Industry includes a clause for absolute industrial peace, beyond the obligations of the law. The clause forbids all industrial action, even action that is not directed against one’s own agreement, such as sympathy strikes or political strikes.

Settlement of disputes

The collective agreement system also includes a negotiation order and a trustee system created for settling disputes about application of the agreements. The purpose of these is to ensure that the agreements between the parties are followed, eventual disputes between the employer and the employee can be settled and the industrial peace maintained.

If the disputes about application of the agreements cannot be resolved through the negotiation order, the issue is referred to the Labour Court. In the Media Industry, arbitration within the industry is used instead of the Labour Court. From the member companies’ perspective, arbitration is a quick and expert method of settlement.

Collective agreement activity in the Media Industry is characterised by:

• mutual trust between the federations that have long been negotiation parties in the industry
• emphasis on the significance of industrial peace
• long agreement periods
• emphasis on the bargaining method and cooperation
• training and continuous education in the constant technological change
• settlement of disputes by arbitration within the industry instead of the Labour Court
• principle of continuous negotiations.