News / 29.11.2024

UJF prioritises key areas for 2025: collective bargaining agreements, freelance work, negotiation support, new copyright strategy

The UJF has set out its main advocacy priorities for the coming year, focusing on collective bargaining, discussions on working conditions for freelancers and support for union representatives and employees at Yle (the Finnish Broadcasting Company) during organisational changes. The spring session of the UJF Council took these decisions at its meeting in Helsinki today.

The union will negotiate all media industry collective agreements by summer 2025. The bargaining cycle will start before Christmas this year with talks on employment terms for film and television production. The current agreements are due to expire on May Day. The union is prepared to take industrial action if necessary to achieve its goals.

Negotiations will continue on minimum working conditions and pay for freelance journalists. The aim is to reach agreements with as many media companies as possible.

Yle's index cuts and the VAT increase have triggered important restructuring negotiations. The union will support its members and union representatives in these negotiations and ensure that Yle complies with legal and industry employment standards in any outsourcing processes.

New strategy on copyright

The UJF Council also approved a new copyright strategy for the UJF.

The strategy aims to defend members' rights, increase negotiating power and promote fair remuneration practices. Copyright-related financial compensation is an important part of many members' income streams.

A key addition to the strategy is the pursuit of collective negotiations for copyright agreements. These will secure fair copyright terms for members, ensure fair compensation for the use of works and provide comprehensive information on the use of works.

The union's Copyright Committee conducted a preliminary survey of union members and affiliates in September to identify their wishes and needs in relation to copyright. There were 103 responses to the survey.


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