Collectively agreed wages in Finland

Working Papers 281 Pekka Sauramo

Abstract

Collectively agreed wages in Finland are measured by indices which describe contributions of collectively agreed wage increases to increases in average wages. Statistics Finland, which produces the data, constructs the Index of Negotiated Wages and Salaries within the same methodological framework as the Index of Wage and Salary Earnings, which is the most important index describing developments in average wages. Statistics Finland does not utilize information on tariff wage levels in the description of collectively agreed wage developments. Because of a high degree of centralization and co-ordination, collectively agreed wage increases have been similar in various sectors of the economy. Wage drift in the whole economy has been relatively stable without any observed trends.