The Council of the Finnish Food Workers’ Union SEL approved national conciliator Esa Lonka’s proposal for an agreement on 24.5.2010. The agreement was accepted after a vote (for 17, against 16). The settlement covers all branches of the food industry. The new collective agreements were signed for bakery, meat processing, dairy, food industry and brewery and beverages branches. The new agreements run until 31.3.2014.

The proposal approved by SEL does not contain the deteriorations demanded by the employers concerning working time, which would have made possible 10 hours working days and 6 days working weeks.

The new collective agreements do not change the current working time prescriptions. The working time questions concerning the meat processing branch will be consigned to a working group to be formed. The working group will consist of the company representatives, shop stewards, the Union and the Employers’ Association. In the bakery branch it will be possible to agree on a voluntary working time model agreed locally in accordance with a model used already by Group Vaasan Oy. According to this model all week days can be used, however, limiting the contiguous working days to five. The working time in this model will be 36 hours a week.

The new collective agreements increase the wages for the first year up to 1.5 per cents. The increase of wages will be implemented on 1.6.2010 and 1.10.2010. The wage increase during the next three years will be agreed in accordance to the general increase level of industry branches in Finland. In addition to the increase in wages the system of seniority benefits will be improved in all branches. Also, among other things agreed, the extra benefits for working in sub-zero warehouses were increased.

SEL’s chairman Veli-Matti Kuntonen considers the new agreement as "an achievement regarding the proposed working time deteriorations. In addition, he considers the wage increases higher than the general level in Finland for 2010 and this fact to be as a positive result". "Regarding of our own goals we had to settle for an agreement, which is below what we were set out to reach, but even within this context there is some improvements", added Kuntonen.