Press releases

The commerce sector is disappointed by the Government’s decisions — desperately needed direct support is still missing

The Government’s decision from today to increase corporate support was welcome as such, but its size and content were a disappointment for the commerce sector. Stores are suffering as the demand for specialty and other goods has collapsed, and the direct support they desperately need was not included in the Government’s decision. The Finnish Commerce Federation is worried that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a wave of bankruptcies in the sector that employs the most people.

Survey: More than a quarter of stores report an almost total slump in turnover – a 25% reduction in employee numbers

The survey, conducted by the Finnish Commerce Federation for member companies, reveals that almost two fifths of commerce sector companies report a slump of over 50% in turnover and, for more than a quarter, the drop has been in excess of 70%. More than 50% of commerce sector companies have reduced the number of employees, in most cases through layoffs. The Finnish Government’s support measures are ineffective in tackling the problems in commerce.

Finnish e-commerce taking over a bigger share of the market

The recent e-commerce survey conducted by the Finnish Commerce Federation shows that the digitalisation of the Finnish commerce sector has been rapid and that domestic e-commerce has especially taken over a bigger share of the market. Domestic online stores are also appreciated. Despite this, a lot remains to be done in internationalisation of the Finnish e-commerce. Online grocery trade has grown at a furious pace, and the coronavirus pandemic will most likely further accelerate growth.

Detailed contents of the emergency provisions in the Collective Agreement for Opticians and employment legislation

The Finnish Commerce Federation and the Union of Private Sector Professionals ERTO have agreed on changes to the Collective Agreement for Opticians in accordance with the recommendations of the central labour market organisations in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. The changes apply to the notice period for lay-offs, the negotiating period for co-operation negotiations and the re-employment of dismissed employees.

Laying off employees

These guidelines review critical matters concerning lay-offs. It should be noted that companies with 20 or more regular employees must comply with the co-operation procedure before carrying out lay-offs.

Detailed contents of the emergency provisions in the Collective Agreement for Commercial Transport Workers and employment legislation

The Finnish Commerce Federation and the Transport Workers’ Union AKT have agreed on changes to the Collective Agreement for Commercial Transport Workers in accordance with the recommendations of the central labour market organisations in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. The changes apply to the notice period for lay-offs, the negotiating period for co-operation negotiations and the re-employment of dismissed employees.

Detailed content of the emergency provisions for inclusion in the collective agreements for the commercial sector and in the employment legislation

The validity of the emergency legislative changes due to the covid-19 will end on 31 December 2020. The emergency legislative provisions in order to help the covid-19 situation came into force 1 April 2020. Originally, the changes were agreed to be valid until 30 June 2020 but their validity was lengthened until 31 December 2020. The legislative changes were applicable to all employees regardless of whether they are covered by the collective agreements for the commercial sector or not.

Coronavirus pandemic hits specialty goods trade in particular, weakens turnover and employment figures

The employment figures for the retail sector have been trending downward since the summer of 2018, and the coronavirus pandemic is set to impact these figures even further. Consumers are also facing a greater threat of unemployment than before, which is directly reflected in their consumption habits. Contrary to previous estimates of moderate growth, turnover is now expected to decrease. The situation will impact domestic specialty goods trade the most, as the sector is already in a critical state.