The autumn meeting of the Federation of Professional and Managerial Staff YTN elected Teemu Hankamäki, Labour Market Director of Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK, as chair of the bargaining organisation for a two-year term 2026-2027. Hankamäki has previously served as YTN's chair 2018-2023 and as general secretary 2014-2017.
"Last spring's difficult round of negotiations resulted in collective agreements for a period of three years in principle. Now is a good time to focus on trimming our operations to reflect changes in the labour market and negotiations, as part of the strategy renewal work during next spring," Hankamäki says in YTN's press release.
According to Hankamäki, the key collective bargaining parties should also consider how to streamline the round of negotiations, which will start in autumn 2027 at the latest.
"Unfortunately, we have completely dismantled the structures that would allow a relatively large number of people to seek a common understanding of what kind of cost level in agreements develops the purchasing power of employees, takes into account the situation of companies and what is optimal for the positive development of the Finnish economy as a whole," he continues in the release.
The vice chairs of the negotiation organization were elected as follows: Leading Legal Counsel Kati Hallikainen from the Union of Professional Engineers, Labour Market Director Riku Salokannel from Suomen Ekonomit (Business School Graduates), and Director of Advocacy Ville-Veikko Rantamaula from the Professionals of Business and Technology.
In addition, the following were elected as regular members of the board: Hannele Aikio (TEK), Kimmo Koskinen (TEK), Jyrki Kopperi (Union of Professional Engineers), Lasse Laurikainen (Union of Professional Engineers), Kosti Hyyppä (Ekonomit), Olli Kaure (Akava Special Branches), Sirpa Leppäluoto (ASIA - Association for Professionals and Managers), Mikko Salo (Vakava), and Nuutti Pursiainen (Social Science Professionals).
In the press release, Hankamäki emphasizes that YTN’s core mission will not change under the new strategy.
“We will continue to negotiate and conclude national and company-level collective agreements for the benefit of our members, which means annual salary increases and basic working conditions, as well as ensuring that workplaces have skilled shop stewards. We will start focusing on this core mission right after the turn of the year, as unlike other agreements, the collective agreement for universities of applied sciences expires on March 31, 2026. Negotiations to renew the agreement will begin with Finnish Education Employers in January.”