Instructions on co-operation negotiations for Akava Special Branches members

The Act on Co-operation within Undertakings applies to undertaking with at least 20 permanent employees, subject to the exceptions provided in the Act. Separate acts apply to the public sector. The employer shall hold the co-operation negotiations in the form specified in the Act if the employer considers measures which may lead to notice of termination, lay-off or reducing a contract of employment to a part-time contract on financial or production-related grounds.

The employer shall issue a written proposal for negotiations five days prior to their commencement, if the co-operation negotiations concern the aforementioned effects on personnel. The proposal for negotiations shall include the commencement time and place of the negotiations and an outline of the suggested agenda to be handled in the negotiations.

The aim of statutory co-operation negotiations is to discuss alternatives to the planned measures and evaluate the effects on personnel. The negotiations seek to minimise the damage caused to personnel.

Find out who your representative at the workplace is (shop steward/elected representative/co-operation representative). Small work communities might not have a personnel representative. In such a case, the negotiations are held between the employer and the employee or between the parties concerned. However, employees have the right to demand that negotiations on matters that concern them are conducted between their representative and the employer.

If you need more information, are conducting co-operation negotiations yourself, or if you are an employee representative, read the Akava Special Branches instructions on

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