PAM negotiates collective agreements for its members and safeguards members' interests at work. Collective agreement specifies the minimum terms and conditions of employment such as wages, working time, sick leave, annual leave, wages for the holiday period and holiday bonuses.
The agreement is generally binding; in other words, all employers in the sector have a legally enforceable duty to ensure that their employees enjoy these minimum terms and conditions.
In Finland there are generally binding collective agreements in nearly every sector, which means that the agreed stipulations must be followed in working life even if the employee or the employer is not organized. You should not make a work agreement with weaker conditions than in the collective agreement!
Check the collective agreement before you sign your work contract
For example the wages should not fall below the minimum wages negotiated by PAM in the collective agreement. It is good to keep in mind that you cannot conclude an individual employment contract on weaker terms and conditions than those agreed upon in the collective agreement.
You can ask your employer or shop steward about the collective agreement they follow.
Collective agreements in a nutshell
