Your guide to local wage negotiations in the state

What you'll get in this guide

This guide provides you with practical guidance from preparation to the execution of the negotiations. You will get tips on how to argue in the best possible way for the members' interests and how to handle challenges that may arise along the way. 

• Part 1: Preparations for the negotiations

• Part 2: Conduct of the negotiations

• Part 3: If the negotiations do not go as planned

• Part 4: Other Opportunities to Negotiate Salary

• Part 5: Support and advice

• FAQ - frequently asked questions

Thorough preparations are crucial for a good negotiation result. As a union representative, you will, through good preparation, demonstrate knowledge and competence to the employer's representatives and your own members. This also helps to create a constructive negotiation climate. 

Your preparations as a union representative

Preparations for the wage settlement are a process that should take place throughout the year. You should be in regular contact with administrative management and personnel management to keep up to date with what is happening in the business. 

Electing a negotiating committee

The members must elect union representatives who will negotiate on behalf of the members. The negotiation committee should consist of people who know the situation of the members and the company well and who have negotiation experience or are willing to learn. 

Mapping the members' situation and needs

Make a thorough assessment of what you want to achieve for your members: 

• What is the goal of this year's negotiations? 
• How should the requirements be structured? 
• Is it desirable that everyone should receive a general supplement? How big should it be? 
• Which members or groups have special needs for a salary increase? 

It makes sense for the union representatives to prepare a long-term strategy for the salary development for the members, not just focus on this year's negotiations. 

Before the annual local negotiations start, a preparatory meeting between the parties must be held at the place of negotiation. This meeting is important in order to lay the foundation for good negotiations in accordance with HTA 2.6.3.

What happens in the preparatory meeting?

At the meeting, the basis for negotiations and the total allocation to the place of negotiation are reviewed. The parties get an overview of how much money is available for the negotiations. This includes both funds set aside in the central negotiations and any funds the employer has set aside locally. It is also in the preparatory meeting that the parties clarify which wage data and statistics will form the basis for the negotiations. 

The effective date and deadline for negotiations are determined in the central negotiations. The effective date is usually 1 May and the deadline for completing local negotiations is 31 October.

What needs to be agreed? 

The parties must agree on practical conditions for implementation: 

• Claim deadlines – when must claims be filed 
• Meeting schedule – when to hold the negotiation meetings
• Timeframe – how long is set aside for the negotiations

It is important that sufficient time is set aside for the conduct of the negotiations. 

Delegated negotiations

If the negotiations have been delegated to a lower organisational level, the parties at the delegated level must hold a corresponding preparatory meeting.  

In order to safeguard the interests of the members, it is important for you as a union representative to have an overview of the employees' salaries. The employer must prepare the necessary overviews and compilations. 

Your rights as a union representative

Normally, as a union representative, you will know the members' salaries. However, there may be a need to have access to salary information at the individual level for other employees as well. This is partly to check that there is no unreasonable differential treatment between NITO's members and employees in other organisations and unorganised organisations. 

In central government agencies, you can demand access to employees' salary information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, regardless of whether they are members of other organisations or are unorganised. Information about salaries is public in the public sector. 

Use of wage statistics

NITO's salary statistics are prepared to map developments over time. It helps both NITO as an organisation and the individual member to keep track of how they are doing in terms of salary compared to other engineers. It should also be important for the company to know how they are doing in terms of pay for their engineers compared to other government agencies.

It is important that you do not use the statistics as a conclusion to what is the correct salary level.  

In the central government, all wage development takes place locally in the enterprises. This means that as a union representative, you have an influence on the members' salary development. Through local negotiations, you can agree on general increases for all members, group adjustments, or individual salary increases. All means can be used. 

The negotiation process 

The local parties are encouraged to agree on a process for local negotiations that suits the business. If the local parties do not reach an agreement, the Basic Collective Agreement specifies how the local wage negotiations are conducted.

It is common for the negotiations to be carried out with all the associations in the same room.

Before the meeting:

• Arrive on time and well prepared. If you act professionally, you will also be taken seriously. 
• Present the negotiation committee if not everyone knows each other. 
• Let the main negotiator speak. This creates clarity about who is responsible for leading the negotiations. 

During the meeting:

• The employer opens the meeting. 
• Create a good negotiation climate – thank you for convening the meeting. 
• Use clear and simple language. Avoid unnecessary jargon. 
• Show interest, also in the employer's arguments. This shows that you are a serious negotiator. 
• Keep the introductory lecture short (maximum 3 minutes). Experience has shown that the interest of the other party decreases after this time. 
• Stick to the topic. If you are engaged in salary negotiations, do not use the opportunity to bring up topics that are on the side of this. It will seem unstructured and shifts the focus from the purpose of the meeting – to increase the salary of NITO's members. 
• Stick to the facts. Experience shows that falsehoods will be revealed sooner or later, and your credibility will then be weakened. Facts last a long time. 

Negotiation technique:

• Be prepared to give and take in the negotiations. In a negotiation, the goal is to reach agreement, so you have to give and take. 
• Make sure you agree. If you do not understand what the employer means – ask! 
• Summarize the discussion and make sure that you agree on what you have come up with ("Then we agree that..."). 
• Write down what you agree on. 
• Have special meetings in your own negotiating delegation, with the employer and/or the other associations when necessary. This provides an opportunity to discuss strategy or to have more detailed conversations. 
• Contact NITO centrally if necessary during the negotiations. You don't have to stand alone. 

Conclusion:

• Try to come to a decision. Negotiations must end with a result. 
• Never issue an ultimatum unless you are prepared to carry it out. 
• Consider breakups carefully – it should be the last resort. A protocol supply can be just as effective as a breach. 
• Take time to think and consult NITO Stat or the secretariat if necessary. The secretariat must be contacted before any violation. 
• Write a protocol, both in case of agreement and violation. 
• Thank you for the meeting regardless of the result – you will meet again. 

Minutes of the negotiation meetings must be kept. This should be set up in the meeting and must be signed by all parties. Only one person from each party signs the minutes, usually the main negotiator. 

What should the minutes contain? 

The minutes should not be minutes from the negotiation meetings, but the result of the negotiations must be clearly stated. The protocol shall contain: 

• Year and day the negotiations were held 
• Location 
• Who was present and which parties they represented 
• What the negotiations were about
• What the parties agreed on. Or in the event of disagreement: The parties' positions. 
• Signature by both parties 

Minutes of agreement and disagreement

In the event of agreement, the minutes must clearly describe what the parties have agreed on. In the event of disagreement, the parties' different positions shall be described. A good protocol is important documentation both for the members and for any subsequent processes. 

If you cannot reach an agreement in the negotiations, it is important that you ask for a break or a special meeting before any dispute protocol is written. Use the special meeting to think through the situation. 

When should you consider a breakup?

Breaking should be the last resort. As the dispute rules in the state are today, there is an extensive process that is initiated if you want a violation to be litigated. Union representatives must contact the  secretariat before negotiations are broken off. 

Alternatives to Fractures

A protocol supply can be just as effective as a breach. This means that you document the disagreement in the minutes without formally breaking off the negotiations. This can be a way to mark dissatisfaction without going to the drastic step of breaking off the negotiations. 

Process in the event of a breach

If you nevertheless choose to break off the negotiations, this must be documented in a dispute protocol. This must be sent to NITO centrally immediately, as there are deadlines that must be met for further processing. 

Handling disagreements at delegated level

Disagreements at the delegated level are decided by the parties at the place of negotiation specified in Appendix 2 to the Basic Collective Agreement. This means that if you do not agree at the delegated level, the case can be sent up in the system. 

Deadlines and procedures

The matter must be submitted within 14 days after the negotiations at the delegated level have been concluded. The parties at the place of negotiation specified in Appendix 2 must consider the case within 14 days, unless they agree otherwise. 

When can cases be brought before the Salary Committee?

In the event of negotiations pursuant to section 2.5.1 and in the event of negotiations on a special basis pursuant to section 2.5.3 no. 1, each of the parties may bring the matter before the State Salary Committee. 

How and when to contact NITO centrally

It is NITO centrally that sends the case to the salary committee, and the deadline is two weeks after the negotiations were concluded locally. It is therefore important that any dispute protocol is sent to the secretariat as soon as it has been concluded. 

In addition to the annual local negotiations pursuant to HTA 2.5.1, there are other provisions in the Basic Collective Agreement that provide opportunities for wage changes. As a union representative, it is useful to know about these, even if they are not part of the ordinary local negotiations. 

These other possibilities are covered in the FAQ section under "Other options for negotiating salary" where you will find information about salary adjustment for managers (HTA 2.5.2), negotiations on a special basis (HTA 2.5.3) and salary assessment upon employment (HTA 2.5.5). 

Read also: How do you get a higher salary as a NITO member in the state?