Finland: Nokia Siemens unions fight two battles to manage restructurings

In Finland, where NSN employed 7,200 people at the end of 2011, the cuts should affect 700 people in Espoo, 150 in Oulu and 350 in Tempere.  The unions concerned – Metalliliitto, Pro, UIM and TEK –, which signed the company’s collective agreements, immediately launched an active negotiating phase.  They are fighting two battles.  First, they are in a legal battle in the negotiations with the company’s management as regards the modalities of the layoff plan.  Since the company opened a voluntary leave window, the final number of cuts should be lower than expected, since some of the employees concerned should leave voluntarily and cash the compensation the company is giving for this defined case (which means that the employee resigns and gets, depending on how long s/he was in the company, up to several years’ pay).  The amount of compensation is not public and employees sign a confidentiality agreement when they take the offer.  Besides, please note that it is easy for Nokia employees to find another job as they were well trained and come from a prestigious company. 
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eave voluntarily and cash the compensation the company is giving for this defined case (which means that the employee resigns and gets, depending on how long s/he was in the company, up to several years’ pay). The amount of compensation is not public and employees sign a confidentiality agreement when they take the offer. Besides, please note that it is easy for Nokia employees to find another job as they were well trained and come from a prestigious company.

The second battle unions effectiv

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