Agreement ends dispute at Finland’s universities of applied sciences

Yle reports that a long-running dispute over the collective agreement for Finland’s universities of applied sciences has ended after all parties accepted a settlement proposal from the national conciliator.

The parties were the Trade Union of Education OAJ, Ylemmät Toimihenkilöt YTN and Sivistysala, known as Sivista, which represents employers in the education sector.

OAJ issued more than 20 strike warnings during the dispute. The strikes involved more than 3,000 teachers across Finland.

The settlement includes pay increases in 2026 and 2027 in line with the general agreement pattern. Over the 2025 to 2027 agreement period, increases under that pattern will total approximately 7.3 to 7.8 per cent, depending on the sector and the length of the agreement.

OAJ chair Katariina Murto said the new agreement would raise all teachers’ pay and narrow pay differences during the agreement period.

Availability allowance to be removed

The new agreement will remove the availability allowance for teaching staff in the technology and transport sectors, which had been a point of contention in the negotiations.

Teachers who received the allowance will see their pay develop slightly more slowly than that of other teachers until pay levels have equalised, OAJ said.

Sivista welcomed the removal of the allowance. Hanne Salonen, the association’s labour market director, said the settlement would treat employees equally because all teachers’ pay would in future be assessed using the same criteria.

OAJ chief negotiator Petri Lindroos said he was concerned about the status of teaching staff at universities of applied sciences during the negotiations. He said teachers provided the foundation for high-quality teaching and students’ skills, and that this should be reflected in how staff are treated and how their employment conditions are negotiated.