Unions, Employers Shake Hands on Minimum Pay Deal
Trade unions and employers came to an unwritten agreement to raise next year's minimum monthly salary to 290 euros, up from the current 278-euro mark established in 2008.
The figure is the result of a compromise because the Trade Union Confederation had initially bargained for 325 euros.
But the Employers Confederation was unwilling to go that far, citing a lack of confidence as a result of lingering instability of the European economy.
Still, employers agreed that pay should rise in 2012, due to factors such as the planned increase for senior pensions next year. "If pensions rise and pay does not, passivity will grow on the job market," Tarmo Kriis, head of the Employers Confederation, said in a statement.
The details will be worked out in the coming days, and the two organizations will then submit their proposal to the government.
"It is not possible to overcome the fallout of the economic crisis in just a year even in a best-case scenario, but next year we can begin to seek higher aims if no further economic backfire occurs," said Harri Taliga, head of the Trade Union Confederation.
Ott Tammik