KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN WORKING LIFE:
> SAK: At work
> MEE: Foreigners working in Finland

Helsinki (21.05.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Working life in Finland has taken a turn for the better in the last three years according to a general study on Finnish working life, published a week ago by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health FIOH. The study is based on telephone interviews with some 3,000 people and is conducted every three years. The good news is that the employment rate of people over 55 years of age is now higher. People are more willing to continue working longer, later in life. In 2006, 58 per cent of employed people aged at least 45 were considering continuing work after they reached the lowest possible retirement age of 63, now the percentage is 74. The number of traditional occupational diseases has also been diminishing, except for asbestosis. On the other hand there are now more allergies than before. These are often connected with indoor air problems especially in schools, hospitals and social services units.

Outsourcing redundancy is becoming a business

Helsinki (15.05.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Recent measures taken by Nokia have prompted many people to ask whether it is using other companies to do its dirty work when it comes to firing employees. "There is a pattern where employees are outsourced with some part of the business to another company, which will then quickly fire them on the grounds of re-organising production. One has to ask whether redundancy has become a business", says Maria Löfgren, director of Akava, the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff.

Finnish union confederations:
EU has to respect the freedom of collective bargaining

Helsinki (06.05.2013 - Juhani Artto) Experts from the three union confederations in Finland (Akava, SAK, STTK) have delivered harsh criticism to the European Union for repeatedly breaching the freedom of collective bargaining. They refer to recent cases where the European Commission has intervened in the bargaining procedures in Romania, Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy and weakened the position of unions. This criticism is included in a 26-page discussion paper published on 26 April by experts from the three confederations. The paper will be published in English at a later date. - Read more: How do we get out of the eurocrisis?, discussion paper written by experts of SAK, STTK, Akava, published on 28 November 2011

Unions offer helpline for summer workers
(03.05.2013 - link to the web site of SAK)

A new study:
How agency labour became accepted practice

Helsinki (28.04.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The hiring of temporary labour (agency labour) gained acceptance and a sense of legitimacy back in the 1990’s when Finland was going through a period of severe recession. This form of employment, which had shown a marked increase at that point, was seen in the media first and foremost as a solution to the problem of high unemployment. Changes in legislation passed at that time also reflected changes in attitudes towards this type of employment arrangement. At the same time temporary labour was understood as something that only affected "marginal groups" like women and students, thus posing no danger to the traditional often male-dominated work places.

SASK campaigns with Amnesty Finland for trade union rights

Helsinki (23.04.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The Trade union solidarity centre of Finland SASK is campaigning alongside the Finnish section of Amnesty International for trade union rights. The new campaign got underway on Monday 22nd April and focuses on the situation in Colombia. On the campaign web pages (in Finnish) there is an appeal to the Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos. It implores the president to keep the promises of his government to end anti-union violence and remove the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators.

Foreign owners make their presence felt
in the Finnish paper industry

Helsinki (18.04.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Some 40 paper, paperboard and pulp factories in Finland are now owned by foreign companies. The problems facing the traditionally strong Finnish paper industry together with major investments by Finnish forest industry companies abroad have provided an opening for new investors in Finland itself. At the beginning of last year these foreign owned companies employed 3.688 permanent workers and a further 187 in temporary jobs. By the end of June 2012 the number of permanent workers in the paper, paperboard and pulp industry in Finland was 14.210 with 3.236 temporary workers. Paperiliitto, the magazine of the Finnish Paper Workers' Union, looked at changes on the floor level in the foreign owned factories. The article is written by the Finnish freelancer Matti Remes. The shop stewards interviewed reported no major conflicts, but there are often differences in management culture.

Trade union confederations critical of sizeable cut
in corporate tax rate

Helsinki (10.04.2013 – Heikki Jokinen, Juhani Artto) The coalition government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen has decided to cut the corporate tax rate from the current 24.5 per cent to 20.0 per cent. The three trade union confederations (Akava, SAK, STTK) are not happy with the decision for a number of reasons. First, the government plans to finance the cut partly by raising taxes for ordinary citizens. This can only have a negative impact on the purchasing power of wage and salary earners, which in turn will inevitably affect economic growth prospects.
“Competitiveness of business enterprises is naturally important for growth and employment but wage and salary earners and the entire society also urgently need measures that serve to increase purchasing power”, said Sture Fjäder, the President of Akava, in considering the government’s choices.

Mining industry expects strong growth

Helsinki (26.03.2013 – Heikki Jokinen) The mining industry is increasingly becoming an important sector of the Finnish economy. This is felt also in the Metalworkers' Union where some 1,500 miners are organised. Last year the Association of the Finnish Extractive Resources Industry (FinnMin) conducted a survey concerning future prospects among 58 companies working in mining. Among the survey’s findings it is estimated that within the next ten years, along with expansion, a total number of 5,600 people will be employed in mining - an increase of 150 per cent in comparison with the existing situation in the 48 companies that replied to the survey.

SAK: "Santa Claus came early this year"
(21.03.2013 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Employers block national deal on pay and conditions
(20.03.2013 - link to the web site of SAK)

Production is returned back to Finland from Asia

Helsinki (13.03.2013 – Heikki Jokinen) Finland is producing bicycles again. The traditional bicycle factory Helkama Velox moved the production line of its Jopo bicycles back from Taiwan to Finland in 2010. Since then the sale of Jopo bikes has doubled. About 24,000 bicycles will be manufactured this year, which amounts to eight per cent of total annual bicycle sales in Finland. Many components are still produced abroad, but more than 50 per cent is Finnish work. The original Jopo first made its appearance in 1965 and continued in production until 1974. With the retro boom in vogue Helkama began to make it again in 2002 and moved production to Taiwan three years later. The return of the Jopo factory from Taiwan to the small Finnish coastal town of Hanko is one part of the emerging reshoring, the return of industrial production back to Europe and the USA. The reasons behind this are usually diminished salary differences between countries like Finland and China, greater flexibility and the need to be closer to customers.

Trade unions reject a new initiative to cut young people's pay

Helsinki (05.03.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The Prime Ministers' Office published last Friday a report demanding more low-pay work in Finland. The report is drafted by Juhana Vartiainen, the Director General of the Government Institute for Economic Research and Osmo Soininvaara, the Green Party MP and one of the party’s chief ideologists. They propose that those under 25 years should receive salaries 20 per cent below what is set out in the collective agreements, with the sweetener of a reduction in the tax rate for those affected. As one might expect, the trade union reaction was swift. Timo Vallittu, the President of the Industrial Union TEAM stresses that a cut in wages and salaries for young people would automatically make them low paid and that would inevitably set a trend in the labour market. Their parental benefits, sickness allowance and pensions would also remain smaller, Vallittu adds.

The Electrical Workers' Union discloses again underpayment of foreign electricians

Helsinki (01.03.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish Electrical Workers´ Union recently disclosed how Estonian electrical workers were underpaid on a major construction site (car park P-Hämppi) in the city of Tampere. After the visit of the union representatives some of the Estonian electricians joined the union and asked for help. "There are many new companies in this branch and it can happen that they just simply do not know the rules. In most cases everything is ok", says ombudsman Jari Ollila in Vasama, the magazine of the union. In this case in Tampere the problems occurred with two subcontractors. One is a member of the contractors' association and the problems with this firm can be solved by negotiation. The other firm is registered in Estonia and the union has not been able to make any real contact with it. For this reason the union has declared a blockade against the company.

Violence is often present in service jobs

Helsinki (22.02.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The threat of violence is often present for those working in small shops and kiosks. In 2012 a total of 312 robberies were reported to the police, and the year before 332. Shoplifting is not classed as a robbery, though such cases may also involve the threat of violence. In 2012 a total of 47,360 shoplifting cases were reported to the police, several thousand less than the year before. Typical for robberies of small shops and kiosks is that these incidents are not planned and the take is often very meagre, a small amount of cash, beer or cigarettes. The robbers usually wield a knife or hammer, but seldom brandish firearms. By contrast robberies of jewellery and other luxury item shops are invariably well planned and executed with firearms. The Service Union United PAM is concerned about the situation. In autumn of last year the union published an action plan called five steps for better security.

Fathers to get new benefits if they stay at home with the baby

Helsinki (14.02.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The law concerning paternity leave in Finland has been amended since the beginning of the year, allowing the father to take longer paid paternal leave. This is a part of the policy to divide childcare more equally between parents and to encourage fathers to spend more time with their new babies. Paternity leave is now 54 working days altogether, approximately 9 weeks. According to Finland's social security provider Kela the father can take 1-18 working days as paternity leave after the child is born.

Less sick leave with better leadership

Helsinki (08.02.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) Company leadership has a major impact on the ability of employees to perform their work, according to a recent study made by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Investing in good leadership could reduce accidents, the amount of sick leave and general inability to work. The study is based on information collected from 64 Finnish companies, which together employ 80,000 people. The material covers the years from 2008 to 2011. The cost of work not done in these companies was on average 7.1 per cent of the salaries paid, varying from 2 to 12 per cent depending on the company. The costs due to sick leave and other similar expenses were on average 2,900 euro annually per employee.

A master at school
(08.02.2013 - link to the web site of Pam Magazine)

German-style pay cuts tempt Finnish employers, fuels mistrust
(08.02.2013 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Finnish authorities getting to grips with work-related
human trafficking

Helsinki (01.02.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) In the last few years Finland has been devoting more and more attention to human trafficking cases. In 2004 the Finnish Penal Code was rewritten to include human trafficking as a separate crime and in 2008 the government adopted a Plan of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Since then, the courts have handed down guilty verdicts in four cases with several other cases still pending.

Estonian Supreme Court: Equal wages for Estonians in Finland
(29.01.2013 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Chemical industry leads Finnish exports 
(28.01.2013 - link to the web site of Yle News)

How journalists and managers coped with unemployment during the economic recession in Finland in 1990-1995 
(25.01.2013 - link to the web site of University of Helsinki) Abstract of Petteri Raito's thesis; Raito is the editor of Särmä, the magazine of the Wood and Allied Workers' Union

Growing trend in 2012:
Almost 16,000 employees lost their jobs

Helsinki (24.01.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The number of redundancies grew by almost 50 per cent last year, according to statistics from the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK. The number of people who lost their jobs in 2012 was 15,800, whereas the same figure in 2011 was 10,600. Last year's figure is the second highest recorded since 2006, the year in which SAK began collecting this information. In 2009 some 19,700 people lost their jobs. Last year the number of employees to get a taste of mandatory consultation with regard to possible personnel cuts was 104,000. In 2011 it was 56,000. The Act of Co-operation stipulates that in all undertakings with more than 20 employees any planned redundancies are subject to mandatory consultation with personnel representatives.

Finnwatch reports on serious abuses of labour in Thai food tuna and fruit production for European markets

Helsinki (21.01.2013 - Juhani Artto) The Finnish watchdog Finnwatch has uncovered serious cases of human and labour rights abuse at three Thai companies supplying tuna and fruits to the Finnish and European markets. Thanks to information furnished by factory workers in Thailand Finnwatch was able to expose the use of both forced labour and child labour. The companies involved pay illegally low wages and make employees work excessive overtime hours. - Read the English language summary (13-page pdf-file) of the report and the two Finnwatch press releases on the report: Finnwatch reveals serious human rights violations behind European food brands

The Union of Professional Engineers has begun to cooperate
with Trade Union News from Finland

Helsinki (15.01.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The Union of Professional Engineers in Finland (UIL) are the latest union to join the group of union organizations that have agreed to sponsor Trade Union News from Finland, signing up at the beginning of the year. UIL organizes engineers and other technical experts. It has 70,000 rank and file members of whom 87 per cent work in the private sector. UIL belongs to Akava, the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland. "The most crucial issue for the union right now and that facing our members is the economic insecurity prevailing in Finland and Europe ", says Ismo Kokko, the director of collective bargaining. "There has been an inevitable scaling back of the workforce - leading to more unemployment - as a result of the downturn. Export companies have been the first to feel this." A great number of UIL members are working in the export industry.

Union confederations SAK and STTK seek a way towards growth

Helsinki (09.01.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The trade union confederations SAK and STTK have published their own programme for economic growth. "High salaries are not the reason for problems in the Finnish economy, there are other reasons behind it", is how SAK president Lauri Lyly views the situation. Lyly and STTK president Mikko Mäenpää see the real problems afflicting the Finnish economy lie in the too low value of added production. The key sectors of our economy, namely the paper and electronics industry have concentrated far too much and for far too long in bulk products. The solutions offered by the confederations are aimed at guaranteeing a high level of education, building and maintenance of a working infrastructure and supporting new innovations.

Employer confederation EK elects new leaders
and adopts a hard line

Helsinki (04.01.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Relations between trade unions and the employers' confederation are exceptionally tense at the moment in Finland. This friction between the two parties had already become evident in September. Then the board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK did not accept an agreement which its representatives had already negotiated with trade union confederations concerning legislation to guarantee employees three days professional education a year.

Only one in six support the idea of raising the retirement age

Helsinki (29.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) The employer stronghold EK urges that the retirement age be raised but a large majority of citizens oppose EK's proposals on the matter in question. Once again this has been confirmed by the results of the opinion poll Yle published on Wednesday.
According to the poll, only 16 per cent of Finns support the idea of raising the lower limit of the retirement age. It is now 63 while the upper limit is 68. The trade unions are also opposed to proposals on raising the lower limit of the retirement age. Unions believe that people would voluntarily choose to retire later if working conditions could be developed in ways that are more conducive and less damaging to people's health.

Record number of highly educated people are unemployed

Helsinki (20.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) It still holds true - in general terms - that the better a person's education is, the better his or her chances are of being employed or finding a job. But this generalization has gradually lost much of its strength. Prior to  the early 1990s depression in the Finnish economy, the unemployment rate of highly-educated people was extremely low, less than 1 per cent. During the depression it peaked at around 7 per cent and then came down to about 4-5 per cent where it has remained since 1999. The still relatively low unemployment rate disguises the fact that the number of highly-educated unemployed people has trendwise grown fairly rapidly.

A new study questions benefits of outsourcing of public services

Helsinki (17.12.2012 – Juhani Artto) In the 2000s, the debate on the role of public services in social and health care has been continuous. During the months preceding the municipal elections, held at the end of October, this issue was at the fore of public debate. There are no explicit findings on questions concerning cost benefits or deficits as a result of outsourcing. The same generalization may be made concerning how the quality of services has changed when outsourcing is introduced. These conclusions are once again confirmed in a comprehensive study, published in October by the common body Fipsu, made up of nine public sector unions. The English language summary of the study can be found here (a 4-page docx-file).

JHL opposed to privatisation of road-builder Destia

JHL (17.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) The future ownership of Destia, the state-owned company which constructs and maintains roads and railways is at stake. Parliament had approved its privatisation back in 2010 and Heidi Hautala, the green minister responsible for state ownership matters, was ready to go ahead with the sell-off in November. However, the two leftist parties in the six-party coalition government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, find the proposed privatisation of this state-owned company problematic. Trade unions organizing Destia's employees, JHL and Pardia, are vehemently opposed to the initiative. Jarkko Eloranta, the President of JHL, warns that privatisation of this vital part of our infrastructure sector could lead to similar price increases which have blighted the construction sector in general.

Finnish-based companies breach employees’ right to organize
in Mexico

Helsinki (14.12.2012 – Juhani Artto) In Mexico several Finnish-based companies are failing to respect the right of their employees to organize. This was exposed in a report published by the Finnish watchdog Finnwatch on Tuesday. The companies breaching employees’ rights are Huhtamäki, Kone, Luvata and Metso. The report does not include data from Nokia’s and Savcor’s factories in Mexico as these companies declined to respond to Finnwatch’s questionnaire. The report is part of a Finnwatch programme that is supported by the trade unions JHL, Pro and Team, among other sponsors. In spring 2012, the Finnish-based company PKC Group was exposed for similar unjust behaviour. – Read more: Maassa maan tavalla?, the English language summary on page 5, Finnwatch 2012, 20-page pdf-file

Research director Jorma Antila:
Finnish industry has not lost its price competitiveness

Helsinki (07.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) Finland's exports have weakened in the 2000s, and last year the current account balance slipped into negative figures for the first time in many years. Employer representatives claim that the problems in exports are due to weakened price competitiveness of the industrial sector. But this is not true, comments Jorma Antila, the director of the research unit at the Metalworkers' Union. He refers to statistics that offer no hard facts in support of the employers' claims. The price competitiveness of the industrial sector has remained fairly stable throughout the 2000s, Antila reminds us in his column in Ahjo, the magazine of the Metalworkers' Union.

JHL at the PSI World Congress:
Goals are the same but circumstances vary widely

JHL (07.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) JHL had a 9-member delegation in attendance at the PSI World Congress from 27 to 30 November in Durban. The unity on goals was the most impressive feature of the congress for the JHL representatives. Concerns are the same across the world, says Jaana Heininen, one of the JHL representatives. “But the level of problems is so different in various countries. In many countries even the most basic things are in bad shape. When compared with those countries it is easy to conclude that our situation in Finland is rather good.”

Workers' gender pay gap continued to narrow in the industrial sector

Helsinki (05.12.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the second quarter 2012 the average wages for female workers in Finnish industry were 85.2 per cent of average wages for male workers. In the last two years the gap has slightly narrowed and is now marginally narrower than in the fourth quarter 2006. In the second quarter 2002 the corresponding figure was 80.5 per cent.

STTK's President urges more cooperation
between European trade unions

Helsinki (30.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) European trade unions should engage in even closer cooperation especially now when there are serious political tensions in the EU, says Mikko Mäenpää, the President of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK. He spoke on Wednesday in Lisbon at a conference where Portuguese and Nordic labour market models were compared. - Cuts in wages and social security in one member state inevitably puts  pressure - sooner or later - on other member states to follow suit and implement similar cuts, he argued. Moreover, closer cooperation between European unions is essential if the trade union movement hopes to have any influence with the European Commission in regard to safety and health matters among other things. Mäenpää criticized the Commission's work programme for the coming year for ignoring the EU’s Strategy on Safety and Health at Work. - Read more: More cooperation is needed between the trade unions in Europe, STTK 29 November 2012

New reverse VAT system in construction industry
increases tax revenues

Helsinki (29.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) Finland introduced a reverse charge in VAT (value added taxation) for the construction sector on 1 April 2011. With reverse VAT it is the buyer of services that pay the VAT and not the seller as is common under the normal VAT system. In practice, this means that the main contractor is obliged to report and pay VAT to the Tax Administration (Inland Revenue) in respect of the entire work or project. Preliminary results indicate that this measure has succeeded in reducing tax fraud, which was the main goal of the reform. According to the study, published on Tuesday by the Tax Administration, the changes boost state coffers by at least EUR 75 million more in VAT-revenue annually.

Retail staff face growing danger at work
(27.09.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Foreigners 'invisible victims' of financial crimes
(25.09.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

One out of six wage and salary earners work in temporary jobs

Helsinki (23.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) The public sector uses relatively more fixed-term employment relations than the private sector but the pay gap between permanent and temporary employees is wider in the private sector. This situation has remained unchanged for many years. In 2011, nearly 16 per cent of all wage and salary earners had a temporary job. Almost 23 per cent of public sector employees were in fixed-term employment relations. At central government level the proportion was slightly higher than at local government level. In the private sector 12 per cent of the employees held temporary jobs. Less than 13 per cent of males worked as temporary employees, whereas 18.5 per cent of females had fixed-term employment relations.

Eloranta regards proposals by the government for reforming the structures of municipalities and the social and health services as promising

JHL (19.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) Jarkko Eloranta, the President of JHL, characterises the proposals the government published last week to reform the structures of the municipalities and the social and health services as a promising step forward. "Commitment to prioritising the service provision offered by the municipalities themselves is especially gratifying. Out of the totality of municipal reform, this has been one of the most important elements for JHL."

SAK, STTK and Akava:
EU's economic and employment coordination
must be based on tripartite preparation

Helsinki (14.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) The three union confederations in Finland - SAK, STTK and Akava – support the euro and the strengthening of EU's economic policy cooperation and regard economic coordination as essential. However, when it comes to the question of EU economic steering the independent bargaining position of labour market parties must be fully respected, the union confederations stress. This demand is included in the statement the three organizations presented on Wednesday to Jyrki Katainen, the Prime Minister of Finland. The statement is aimed to coincide with the day of action and solidarity the European trade union movement is organising on November 14.

Very few municipal employees fear termination of employment

JHL (09.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) In Finland municipal employees continue to have great faith in job sustainability. According to a new book published on Tuesday by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, only three per cent of municipal employees agonise about losing their jobs. The book summarizes the results of a number of large-scale studies made in the 2000s on the well-being of municipal employees at work. As a general trend there has been a reduction in stress levels, although almost a third (29 per cent) experience workloads which exceed their endurance limits. The situation is worst among municipal social workers as almost half of them (45 per cent) claim to have too much work.

A new study:
Producers and users of natural rubber products ignore
the serious social and health problems in the production chain

Helsinki (08.11.2012 – Juhani Artto) The Finnish-based tyre manufacturer Nokian Renkaat uses anything from 40,000 to 50,000 tons of natural rubber annually. The processors and traders that provide natural rubber to the company have committed themselves to respect the code of conduct of Nokian Renkaat. However, the code’s reach is limited as it only concerns the personnel of the processors and traders themselves but not those of the rubber plantations or the intermediaries. Serious social and health problems endured by rubber tappers and rubber workers are totally ignored by Nokian Renkaat. This data is from a study published in October by the Nordic watchdogs Finnwatch and Danwatch. Five Finnish unions (JHL, Pro, SEL, Team and Tehy) and the Finnish development NGO Solidaarisuus support Finnwatch’s programme in organizing various international solidarity activities, the present study included.

The economic crisis has slowed down the rise of nominal pay

Helsinki (31.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the last quarter of 2011, the average monthly pay was EUR 3111*. In the space of one year it had increased by EUR 68. During the year prior to that the increase was EUR 66. In the period from 2002 to 2011 these two figures (EUR 68 and EUR 66) were the smallest one-year rises of the average nominal pay. The highest increases were recorded from the last quarter of 2007 to the last quarter of 2008 (EUR 142) and in the following year (EUR 101) and in the preceding year (EUR 100). In the period from 2002 to 2006 the figures expressing the annual rise of the average nominal pay varied from EUR 79 to EUR 96. What is remarkable in these statistical figures is that, on average, nominal wages and salaries kept growing during the deep slump, experienced in 2008-2009.

Eloranta demands gender impact assessment of outsourcing
and tendering

JHL (25.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the municipal election of 28 October voters decide also on employer policy, says Jarkko Eloranta, JHL's President. "The election result has an impact on municipal employer's policy decisions, and those decisions are felt especially in women's lives, as a big majority of municipal employees are women." Eloranta stresses that outsourcing of municipal services so that cheaper collective agreements will be applied is a typical matter concerns women in particular. "To a great extent it is their wages and working conditions that are in the play." "Therefore when outsourcing and tendering one should always make a gender impact assessment before the decisions are made. And the results of the assessment should naturally be taken into account."

Union confederations and SASK reject proposals
to cut wages and salaries of young people

Helsinki (23.10.2012 – Juhani Artto) In Finland, every now and then the proposal to pay lower starting rates for young people as they enter working life rears its ugly head. Indeed, this is a favourite ploy of the entrepreneur associations. The union confederations SAK, STTK and Akava and the trade union solidarity centre SASK are unanimous in their condemnation of this call to lower young people’s pay saying that it is quite unnecessary and unfair in their joint press.

Dozens of employees from Sri Lanka victims of aggravated extortion

Helsinki (16.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) Illegal treatment of immigrant labour seems to have become an integral part of Finnish working life. The latest exposure concerns 36 employees of the cleaning company Ariel Palvelut Oy that has had large assignments from public authorities in Helsinki and in Espoo. Most of the victims are from Sri Lanka, the union magazine PAM reports. In late September, the managing director and two supervisors of the company  were convicted of aggravated extortion and other work-related crimes by Vantaa District Court. - Read more: "This is certainly quite alarming", PAM 12.10.2012

JHL serves its Swedish speaking rank and file members in Swedish

JHL (11.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) According to the latest statistics, 3.2 per cent of JHL's rank and file members belong to the Swedish speaking minority. Finnish speakers constitute 94.8 per cent and "the others" 2.0 per cent. JHL's magazine Motiivi outlined in its latest issue how the union serves its Swedish speaking rank and file members in their mother tongue. One may well generalize that the service is at least satisfactory or even good which is not very common in Finland in associations where the language minorities are small.

At the OL3 nuclear power plant construction site:
Payment of taxes and social security contributions has clearly improved but serious wage and working hour problems prevail

Helsinki (09.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Employment and Equality Committee of the Finnish Parliament is organising a public hearing on Wednesday concerning working conditions at the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant construction site. Despite intensive and concerted efforts by the trade unions representing workers at the site serious wage and salary dumping as well as working hour irregularities have prevailed. Also flagrant obstacles to workers joining union organizations remain in place.

Nordic countries worry over EU internal market package
(08.10.2012 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

European Commission grabbing power from labour market organizations, FinUnion's Director claims

SAK/Palkkatyöläinen (03.10.2012 - Aino Pietarinen) "In the EU, decisions are now being made in the name of economic policy coordination that will have a bigger impact on wage and salary earners than working life directives", warns Marianne Muona, the Acting Director of FinUnions (The Finnish trade unions representation to the EU). Thus, the European Commission is extending the reach of its power to, among other things, wage and salary formation. This means that the Commission, through its coordination role, is seeking to circumvent power traditionally held by the labour market organizations, the European Parliament and Council who, together, normally impose working life directives.

Programming becomes more expensive in India than in Finland

Helsinki (27.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) In India a programme developer is paid 30 per cent of a programme developer's salary in Finland, when the employer's mandatory social contributions are included in the calculation. However, the work done in Finland turns out to be less costly for the company than the work done in India. Two factors make programming in Finland cheaper. In Finland programmers make far fewer mistakes than their colleagues in India and in Finland the work takes far less time to complete than in India. The comparison originates from a secret, internal study, made by Nokia Siemens Network (NSN). The magazine 3-T has received a copy of the study and has now published key data from it. The company management has not made any comment on the revelations.

Eloranta concerned about municipalities' ability to provide services

JHL (26.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) Jarkko Eloranta, the President of the JHL, is deeply concerned about the  ability of municipalities to provide proper and adequate municipal services. Among municipal directors and leading officials there may even be a lack of willingness to provide them, he says in an interview with SAK's magazine Palkkatyöläinen. "First services are outsourced, then financing for these stops. Soon the welfare society will come to end of the road", Eloranta warns. Municipal services are often long processes where special skills of employees in various professions are needed. If parts of the process are outsourced, the entireties become more complex and control over the quality becomes more difficult and problematic.

More than 12,000 jobs lost to date in 2012
(24.09.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Small businesses call for cuts to employment security
(23.09.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Not gimmicks but long-term development work improves
well-being at work

Pro (21.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) Salaried employees' trade union Pro published the results of its latest survey on Wednesday. It is based on replies given in April-May 2012 by 12,000 rank and file members. The survey focuses (1) on the state and development of well-being at work, (2) on the pay, working hours etc., as well as systems at work places and (3) on productivity. The results of the survey expose that attempts to develop well-being at work have not led to any clear improvement despite the numerous projects that have been tried and other efforts to reach a higher level of well-being at work. One may conclude from the lack of desired results that any efforts to achieve well-being at work - at company and work place level - must be more serious and ultimately is something that requires a more long-term approach says Antti Rinne, the President of the union. And this is also a key element in the struggle for increased productivity, he adds.

Finland’s comprehensive social guarantee for young people
(20.09.2012 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Finnish union leaders warn of doubtful side of
"German labour market model"

Helsinki (18.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) A report published in early August by the Federation of the Finnish Technology Industry indicates that Finland's cost competitiveness has declined in comparison with its main competitors. In the debate surrounding this issue employer representatives have repeatedly referred to the strength of the German export industry, in particular, and hinted that Finland should follow Germany's example. "Germany's road cannot be our road", say the Presidents of two influential trade unions, namely, the metalworkers' Riku Aalto and private sector salaried employees' Antti Rinne (trade union Pro). They came to this clear conclusion in late August when the two unions published their 30-page study on how Germany's labour market model has treated wage and salary earners since the middle of the 1990s.

The European water campaign is now collecting signatures
on the web

JHL (14.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) The European campaign "Water is a Human Right" is now also collecting signatures electrically on the web. The goal is to collect one million signatures by the end of this year. All citizens that have a right to vote in one of the 27 EU Member States can sign the campaign appeal. The eight-language web site (not Finnish or Swedish) for the signature collection is at the address http://www.right2water.eu/. When visiting the page for signatures one should select the member state one comes from. The Finnish and Swedish language site is published at the address http://vesionperusoikeus.fi/.

Compulsory taxation ID requirement for construction workers targets the grey economy

Helsinki (05.09.2012 - Juhani Artto) All workers at new construction sites in Finland must now have identification documents containing their personal taxation numbers, under new legislation that came into force on 1 September 2012. Workers at older construction sites must have such ID by 1 March 2013. Foreign workers are not exempted from the new rules. These novel regulations may become the most powerful weapon available to the Finnish authorities in their struggle against the grey economy. Over the last decade illicit employment practices have spread alarmingly through Finland’s construction sector. This has made it more difficult for honest companies to win tenders, and deprived the authorities of hundreds of millions of euros in unpaid taxes and social security contributions. Both Finnish and foreign companies have been involved in such illegalities. The revised legislation additionally compels contractors to check that sub-contractors meet their obligations towards their employees.

Union leader on UPM's logger policy:
"This deserves to be categorised as white slave trade"
 
Helsinki (31.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) Sakari Lepola, the President of the Wood and Allied Workers' Union, is incensed by what he discovered on a recent visit to UPM's mill and forests in Rauma, a coastal city in Western Finland. This anger was provoked by the double-standard being employed by the Finnish multinational in regard to its personnel policy. From the point of view of a trade unionist, superficially at least, the situation at the mill was satisfactory. Cooperation between the management and the employees was running smoothly, and in contrast to many other companies, maintenance work had not been outsourced. Within the walls or confines of the mill the company seems to understand the value of its workforce, Lepola writes in Särmä, the union magazine. "This is how a large multinational company should behave." But on venturing into the forest - a short trip from the mill - Lepola felt he had taken a step into the past. 

Unions turn down employer proposals to open up the framework agreement for new negotiations

Helsinki (25.08.2012 - Juhani Artto). Employers' proposals to renegotiate the framework agreement have not been well received by union organizations. The two strongest employer organizations (the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries) made their proposals last week. Union leader reactions did not leave any room for speculation. They reiterated that the framework agreement can only be terminated or suspended if the parties who signed it agree to do so jointly.

Transport Union says Metro subcontractors underpay lorry drivers
-About 20 drivers not paid extras and overtime pay at construction sites
(23.08.2012 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Municipal employees are ready to consider
continuation of the framework agreement

JHL (22.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) Union organizations in the municipal sector support continuation of the framework agreement, signed in November 2011. The agreement formed the basis for the realisation of collective agreements that cover all employees in the public sector and over 91 per cent of the wage and salaried employees in the private sector. The collective agreement in respect of municipal employees is due to expire on 28 February 2014.

China's ACFTU wants to learn from SAK how to promote
employees' rights

Helsinki (21.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) A delegation from China's union confederation ACFTU visited Finland last week and met with Lauri Lyly, the President of Finland's largest union confederation SAK. According to SAK, the Chinese were primarily interested in SAK's experiences in the promotion of employees' rights, and through that avenue, the well-being of the entire society. "It is important to find a balance whereby sufficient economic growth guarantees the well-being of companies. Then these companies can afford to pay proper wages and salaries to their employees", says Mr. Wang Ruisheng, the Vice-President of ACFTU in a short interview published by SAK.

Trade Union News from Finland begins its 16th year
in service of the union movement today

Helsinki (15.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) Fifteen years ago, when beginning to publish this web publication, my motivation was to serve both the Finnish and the global trade union movements. I firmly believed then that there were many things happening, and of relevance, in Finnish working life and in Finnish trade unions worthy of reports, in a language widely understood around the world. This motivation and this belief have not waned in the past fifteen years. Rather the contrary. And, very briefly, I would like to outline some of the reasons why I have remained steadfast and optimistic about Finland and the worldwide labour movement. - Read more ...

JHL wants more money for municipalities in the 2013 state budget

JHL (13.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) JHL proposes several changes to the 2013 state budget proposal published on Wednesday by the Ministry of Finance. The government will deliberate on the Ministry's proposal at the end of August. JHL is satisfied with the proposal's overall trend emphasizing the need for tax rises instead of cuts in public expenditure when balancing the budget. However, the union is dissatisfied with the proposed EUR 125 million cuts in the state's support towards municipalities. "Reduction in this support to the municipalities will inevitably mean weaker services and cuts in personnel", JHL notes critically. It urges the state to make up for any loss of direct support by, for example, directing revenues from the waste tax and other eventual environmental taxes to the municipalities. - Read more: Ministry of Finance budget proposal reinforces central government finances and promotes growth, MoF 07.08.2013

Wages and salaries sum grew by 4.8 per cent in April to June
(13.08.2012 - link to the web site of Statistics Finland)

Unions offer hotline for young people working during summertime

Helsinki (09.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) About 500 people have called the hotline that counsels young people working in summer jobs. Most of the questions have - overwhelmingly so in fact- have concerned pay-related issues, according to Joonas Tutti, who effectively runs the service. The hotline itself was set up by the three union confederations SAK, STTK and Akava. And it has proved to be even more popular than in 2011. The service has been available from early May and lasts until August 24. The hotline is not the only counselling service for young summer employees. The web site Kesäduunari-info lists and explains in Finnish and Swedish matters that any newcomer in the working life should comprehend. Such matters are, for example, employment contract and occupational safety. The site is created by SAK, STTK and Akava.   

Transfer pricing by companies cuts state tax revenue
(08.08.2012 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Unemployment has gone down in Finland despite the Eurozone crisis

Helsinki (01.08.2012 - Juhani Artto) The number of unemployed fell slightly from June 2011 to June 2012, Statistics Finland reports. Also, the trend in the unemployment rate has taken a downward turn following the 2008/2009 recession. Will this positive trend continue in the near future? Much depends on the ultimate outcome of the Eurozone crisis, as Finland's economy is very dependent on the development of its export markets, especially to Sweden, Germany and several other EU Member States, as well as Russia.

Estonians favour Finland when working abroad

Helsinki (23.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) Finland is the favourite foreign country for Estonians working or planning to work abroad. Finland is mentioned as an attractive option by 43 per cent of those who are ready to work outside of Estonia. Finland is followed by Germany and Sweden. England and Norway receive a positive response from 15 per cent of "willing to work abroad" Estonians. Finland is looked upon favourably by Estonians because of the similarities of Finnish and Estonian languages and because of the close proximity between the two countries and cheap fares when travelling to Southern Finland across the Gulf of Finland. The survey indicates also that positive experiences of the host country and relatives and friends living there play a significant role when heading for work abroad.

JHL's rank and file members more eager than Union Council
to take industrial action so as to "teach" employers

JHL (20.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) Over 60 per cent (60.1) of JHL's rank and file members reply YES to the following claim: "Local chapters should be prepared to endorse industrial action more frequently to force employers to pay attention to personnel opinions in situations of change." Within the Union Council only a minority (43.4 per cent) share this conclusion. Another significant difference concerns taxation of wage and salary earners. Almost 60 per cent (59.1) of the rank and file members support lowering the income tax wage and salary earners have to pay while only 41.5 per cent of the Union Council members think similarly.

Berry pickers must be paid at least EUR 7.91 per hour

Helsinki (18.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) Currently, thousands of seasonal employees are working in Finland as berry pickers at the many strawberry fields scattered throughout the country. Many are Finnish schoolboys and schoolgirls but since the 1990s a substantial proportion of strawberry pickers have been foreigners. Soon thousands more berry pickers will arrive in Finland to pick forest berries, such as blueberries, cloudberries and cranberries. Most of them fly into Finland from Thailand. In recent years the working conditions and often the sad fate of forest berry pickers from Thailand, and some other countries outside of the European Union, have caused much public outcry in Finland. - Wages and terms of employment applied in berrypicking 2012 (published in April 2012 by Occupational safety and health administration)

Two new studies:
Employers' attitudes in industry have both hardened and softened

Helsinki (10.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) A new study conducted among rank and file members of the Metalworkers' Union indicate that employers' attitudes have hardened. Just 21 per cent of the respondents had been informed about changes in their work as early as the planning stage. The proportion of such employees has gradually decreased. In 2007 and in 2002 the proportion was 25 per cent, but in 1997 still 34 per cent. More positive results were received in a study carried out among shop stewards of the industrial union TEAM. Surprisingly, 76 per cent of the respondents believe they were able to influence the outcome of the corporate-level mandatory consultations. In 2009 only 52 per cent of the respondents reported similar sentiments. "The myth that employee representatives cannot have an impact on consultation results is hit hard by the replies", the union magazine Intiim concludes.

JHL satisfied with the planned job security rule
for the municipal reform

JHL (04.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) The government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen offers in its programme* strong job security guarantees to municipal employees who will be affected by the broad and radical municipal reform underway. "Wherever restructuring processes are instituted, the position of Staff members will be secured at the level determined by current legislation", the programme of the six-party coalition government affirms. In effect, this means a five-year job security period.

Working group: Obligation to provide a receipt would combat grey economy in the beauty care sector
(03.07.2012 - link to the web site of MEE)

A new study found both improvement and serious deficiencies
in working conditions of Chinese workers

Helsinki (28.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Swedish watchdog Swedwatch collected data in spring 2012 on working conditions at four Chinese factories that produce products for Biltema, Clas Ohlson and Fiskars. In the Nordic countries these three companies are well-known to most consumers looking for garden, hobby and/or home accessories. The Finnish watchdog Finnwatch published its own analysis on Monday based on the data put together by Swedwatch. The data concerns working conditions at four factories in Guangdong. The new data enables us to understand and draw conclusions on how working conditions have changed in recent years as Swedwatch made a similar study in 2005.

Eloranta: Provision of services by municipalities themselves is the bedrock of the welfare state

JHL (21.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) Provision of services by the municipalities is decisive for the sustainability of the welfare state, says Jarkko Eloranta, President of the JHL. He characterizes the municipalities' own service provision as "sustainable, stable and flexible". It is also good for employment and the entire economy, Eloranta adds. "With the service provision of municipalities intact, private capital investors cannot create service monopolies who seek to make profits from basic services." A recent study, made by Keva (former Local Government Pensions Institution), revealed that about half of the municipalities and joint municipal authorities have either already replaced some of their outsourced services with their own provision of services or are considering doing so.

In Sweden researchers find alarming number of people with criminal convictions in leading positions of listed companies

Helsinki (17.06.2012 - Timo-Erkki Heino) More than one out of five, 22 per cent, of the board members and the CEOs of Swedish listed companies has been convicted of a crime resulting in fines or in custodial or suspended prison sentences. The most common crime among the boards of directors and chief executives has been drunken or reckless driving. But also crimes endangering life and health, such as assault, were committed, as well as fraud and insider trading. The findings were revealed in two research reports connected with the Sustainable Investment Research Platform SIRP at the Umeå School of Business in Sweden and headed by economics professor Lars Hassel.

Nokia shares plummit, unions call for action
(14.06.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Nokia to cut 3,700 jobs in Finland
(14.06.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Six unions demand TVO action against illegalities
at nuclear power plant construction site

Helsinki (11.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) When the Finnish nuclear power company TVO speaks about the construction site of its third nuclear power plant OL3, it sounds as if the company is either a cynical liar or totally ignorant of the reality on the ground. On Thursday 7 June the company released a statement insisting on its strict respect for the legislation, collective agreements and the organizing rights of the employees. It also pledged its assurance that all of its subcontractors, and in turn, all their subcontractors, would follow the same principles. However, this is far from the case, concerned trade unions claim. On the very same day, June 7, six trade unions held a press conference where they declared their decision to begin industrial action against TVO in a bid to force it to actively defend the legislation, collective agreements and organizing rights.

A paperworker is just as expensive in Finland as in Sweden
to the employer

Helsinki (06.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Swedish union publication Dagens Arbete surprised its readers on May 3 by claiming that a paperworker cost their employer in Finland over 1.5 times more than in Sweden last year. According to the news an operating employee cost EUR 43 per hour in Finland as opposed to EUR 28 per hour in Sweden on average. The news caused amazement at the union of the Finnish paperworkers Paperiliitto, which has been closely following personnel cost changes over decades. The figures presented by Dagens Arbete seemed to be on the wrong track not only concerning Sweden but also concerning Canada and Japan.

Eloranta elected unanimously to continue as President of JHL

JHL (06.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) Jarkko Eloranta was elected unanimously, on Wednesday, by the Union Council to serve for another 5 years as the union's President. He has held the post since September 2011. The 120-member Union Council had its first meeting on Wednesday following the election by direct ballot in March this year. The Council meeting continues on Thursday. The Union Council also elected two Vice Presidents. Teija Asara-Laaksonen once again received the mandate to continue as one of the Vice Presidents alongside Päivi Niemi-Laine, who was also elected to this post. Eloranta and Niemi-Laine are Social Democrats. Asara-Laaksonen represents the Left Alliance.

JHL effort to collect signatures for the water campaign underway

JHL (29.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) The European campaign Water is a Human Right got off to a strong start in Finland over the weekend. JHL, the largest trade union in the public sector, collected almost 400 signatures towards the campaign appeal. Two ministers from the present government were among those who signed. The venue was the annual world village festival in Helsinki city centre. JHL had there a stall to promote the campaign and serve as a contact point for festival goers. Those who signed the appeal are demanding clean water and functioning sanitation for all people - not only in Europe but throughout the world. The EU must participate actively in the implementation of this demand. The third demand is to ensure these services be kept public.

A tripartite task force in search of ways to improve the unfair status of atypical labour force

Helsinki (28.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) What is the status of employees in fixed-time jobs and part-time jobs, of agency labour and of self-employed and how to develop and enhance their status? These are the questions on the table of a tripartite task force that was established by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy last year. The task force published its first report in mid-May. It identifies some major problems these groups face in the labour market. Generally speaking, they do not have all the rights that employees in full-time and permanent employment relations have and also their economic status tends to be lower than that of their full-time, permanent job colleagues.

About 250 rank and file members candidate
in Pro's Union Council election

Pro (22.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) A new Union Council for the Trade Union Pro will be elected after the vacation period. The voting will begin on August 27 and end on September 7. Some 250 rank and file members are standing for election to the 100-member Council. The time for selecting candidates, within the associations, ended on May 15. Members, who are working or looking for work or temporarily outside of the labour market, have the right to vote in the election. This concerns rank and file members who are included in the union's rank and file member register by August 1 (4pm).

Nordic opposition to minimum wage shows lack of solidarity?
(22.05.2012 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Life after Nokia also means new opportunities
(22.05.2012 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden have successfully reformed their labour markets in the 2000s

Helsinki (21.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the 2000s, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden have waged an active labour market policy. They have continuously reformed their labour markets in order to balance supply and demand. All four countries have succeeded fairly well in this demanding task, at least when comparing their achievements with other EU Member States. In these four countries employment rates are higher and unemployment rates lower than in EU Member States on average. A new study, commissioned and published by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in Finland (MEE), analyses labour market reforms in these four countries from 2000 to 2010. - Study indicates that long-term approach is needed on labour market reforms, MEE 10.05.2012

Pam magazine: The last links in the chain
(21.05.2012 - link to the web site of Pam Magazine)

Human rights expert Parul Sharma to join Stora Enso
(21.05.2012 - link to the web site of Stora Enso)

Salaried employees in the financial sector earn EUR2,736 on average

Pro News (14.05.2012 - Katja Palhus / Juhani Artto) The average salary of financial sector salaried employees is EUR300 below the average pay of Finnish wage and salary earners. In October 2011 financial sector salaried employees earned, on average, EUR2,736. The average pay of the sector's entire personnel was EUR3,771. The pay level varies according to the nature and levels of the tasks and on the location. In the Greater Helsinki Region the pay level is higher than elsewhere in Finland.

JHL: Positive interaction between employers and employees leads to longer work careers

JHL (14.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) In Finland there prevails a common understanding on the need to extend work careers, Union Council of JHL stated in its communique on Thursday. "In labour-intensive sectors it is possible to extend work careers and raise productivity, when the personnel are motivated and conscious of goals and feel well." To a large extent it depends on the employers' willingness and ability to integrate well-being at work and occupational safety with planning, management and monitoring, the Council stressed.

Labour market's ethnic discrimination most prevalent during recruitment stage

Helsinki (09.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the Finnish labour market ethnic minorities face discrimination at the recruitment stage in particular. At work places and in termination situations ethnic discrimination is not as common as at the recruitment stage. These are some of the major findings in a new study (Discrimination in the Finnish labor market. An overview and a field experiment on recruitment, MEE May 2012, a 212-page pdf-file) on discrimination in the labour market. The study covers all labour-related categories and all grounds prohibited under the Finnish Non-Discrimination Act. According to the study, other grounds, such as age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and opinion, do not lead to labour discrimination as frequently as ethnicity (and nationality and language, which are closely related to ethnicity). The frequency of ethnic discrimination is over three times higher than gender discrimination, the researchers conclude.

Finns' support for organizing remains very high

Helsinki (04.05.2012- Heikki Jokinen) An overwhelming majority of Finns regard it as necessary for wage and salary earners to join a union. When asked how necessary it is to organize 46 per cent of the respondents say it to be "very necessary" and another 46 per cent "rather necessary".
This is among the most important findings in a survey covering the population from the age of 15 upwards. The support for organizing was even slightly higher than in the seven similar surveys made since 2004. The latest survey confirms that positive attitudes towards trade unions and expectations from these organisations remain steady.

Weak control of foreign labour and companies
cause major tax losses

Helsinki (26.04.2012- Heikki Jokinen) The tax base was narrowed in 2010 by as much as 675 million euro due to the shortcomings in asserting control over the foreign labour force in Finland. In real terms this meant an actual loss in tax revenues of approximately 100 - 150 million euro. The figures are from a recent report on the efficacy of regulations concerning foreign labour in Finland. It is written by a senior researcher into the black economy, Mr. Markku Hirvonen, and commissioned by the National Police Board. The report reveals that at least 31,000 foreign workers - and this is a conservative estimate - arrived in Finland to work for foreign companies. Some 24,000 of these employees were not registered with the Finnish Tax Administration.

Eloranta wants to continue as JHL's President

JHL (23.04.2012/corrected 24.04.2012  - Juhani Artto) Jarkko Eloranta, JHL's President since September 2011, has reacted positively to union activists who have asked him to stand for re-election. The new 120-member Union Council will hold its first meeting from 5 to 7 June 2012 in Helsinki and will elect the President and two Vice Presidents for a five-year term. As to date, two persons have announced their candidacy for the Vice President posts. They are Pirjo Mäkinen, Vice President since September 2011, and Päivi Niemi-Laine who heads JHL's communications and community relations unit. Following a common practice in the Finnish trade union movement, the aforementioned were also prevailed upon, by union activist groups, to put themselves forward as candidates in the Vice Presidential election.

Bus drivers in Helsinki to hold a 24-hour strike on May 2

JHL (18.04.2012 - Juhani Artto) Bus drivers working for Helsingin Bussiliikenne Oy and organized in the trade union JHL will be on strike on Wednesday May 2. The 24-hour strike begins and ends at midnight. JHL has decided to organize the strike because of the problems JHL's negotiators have encountered during collective bargaining with the representatives of Helsingin Bussiliikenne Oy. The employer organization PTY is not willing to apply the framework agreement, largely approved in the labour market, and is trying to undermine the working conditions of its drivers. JHL's goal is for the present parties to sign a collective agreement whose cost impact is based on the framework agreement. The current collective agreement expires on April 30.

The number of work accidents rose again in 2011

Helsinki (16.04.2012 - Juhani Artto) The latest statistics on work accidents reveal a fairly alarming trend. Despite the best efforts of individuals and organizations to reduce the number of work accidents there has been a marked increase in 2011-up by over six per cent from 2010. And this follows an earlier five per cent rise in 2010. This worsening trend can also be seen from the changes in the overall accident rate. Between 2009 and 2011 it rose by over eight per cent. Thus, the annual variation of economic activity does not offer any real comfort when studying the statistics.

PKC's biggest owner considers pulling out
due to trade union restrictions at Mexican factory

Helsinki (11.04.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish pension insurance company Ilmarinen says it may withdraw it's investments from the Finnish auto parts company PKC due to the restrictions being placed on trade union work in their Mexican factory. PKC's Mexican subsidiary Arneses y Accesorios de Mexico signed a collective agreement with a union the workers do not want to represent them. Three union presidents in Finland, Riku Aalto (Finnish Metalworkers' Union), Antti Rinne (Pro) and Pertti Porokari (Union of Professional Engineers), sent a letter to PKC’s CEO to protest vigorously at the decision that had been taken by management. In the letter they charged unequivocally that the agreement was an attempt to prevent genuine trade union work and in violation of ILO conventions.

Labour disputes increasingly involve police
(10.04.2012 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Wage and salary earners' pay differentials contracted further in 2010
(05.04.2012 - link to the web site of Statistics Finland)

Labour market confederations agree on how to extend work careers by one year

Helsinki (03.04.2012 - Juhani Artto) On March 22 labour market confederations were finally able to agree on a substantial set of measures that will extend work careers. Experts estimate that the agreement will extend work careers on average by one year. Another positive outcome of the agreement is that the expected extension of work careers will serve to balance the state budget, in the long-term, by over EUR 2 billion per annum. The agreement also paved the way for the government to refrain from any major cuts in social spending. The labour market confederations agreed on the work career agreement at the 11th hour prior to a meeting where the government was due to make (and also made) decisions on a budget framework for several years to come.

JHL's new Union Council consists of 85 Social democrats
and 35 representatives of the Left Alliance

JHL (30.03.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the vote to elect the new Union Council rank and file members of Finland's largest trade union JHL have chosen candidates from only two of the lists available, namely; those of the Social democrats and the Left Alliance. Both lists also included "unaffiliated" candidates. The Social democrats won 85 seats on the 120-member Council, the Left Alliance 35. The lists of the Centre Party, the Greens and the Finns Party received less than one per cent of the votes each. The Left Alliance was able to increase its share of the vote, rather noticeably, up from 25.4 per cent to 29.2 per cent while the Social Democrats’ share went down, marginally, from 68.7 per cent to 67.7 per cent.

Finnish enterprises abroad, nearly 5,000 affiliates in 118 countries
in 2010
(29.03.2012 - link to the web site of Statistics Finland)

Finnish trade unions turn down European Commission's proposal
to limit the right to strike

Helsinki (28.03.2012 - Juhani Artto) The three union confederations in Finland - SAK, STTK and Akava - regard it as impossible to approve the European Commission's proposal concerning the right to strike. The proposal was published on March 21. The Commission wants to define, with the so-called Monti II Regulation, the relationship between the right to take industrial action and the freedom of establishment (right to set up and operate a business from any member state) and freedom to provide services. The problem of how to reconcile economic and social rights has come to light at the Court of Justice of the European Union when handling disputes (the Viking and Laval cases) which cross the borders of member states and involve different national legislation.

JHL supports move to delve into Finnish public sector's cooperation with companies operating in developing countries

JHL (27.03.2012 - Juhani Artto) Finnwatch, the watchdog agency tracking Finnish companies' operations in developing countries has established a new research project supported by four Finnish trade unions and the Finnish NGO International Solidarity Foundation. The Decent Work programme will investigate working conditions at company units and those of their subcontractors in developing countries, which supply goods to Finnish markets. The unions taking part in this effort are the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, the salaried employees union Pro, health and social sector employees' Tehy and the Finnish Food Workers' Union SEL.

STTK:
Proposals of labour market organizations setto extend work careers and safeguard justice

STTK (26.03.2012) The government had asked labour market organizations to agree on proposals on how to extend work careers. The agreement that has now been reached between the labour market organizations will have the effect of simultaneously extending work careers and safeguarding inter-generational justice, says the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK. Its board approved the negotiation outcome on Thursday. Mikko Mäenpää, the President of STTK, is satisfied with the common understanding that has once again been found through negotiations between the labour market organizations.

SAK: A committee needed to study men's situation

Helsinki (23.03.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) The union confederation SAK is concerned about the situation of men in society. It requests that the government set up a committee to draft a report on the privileges men enjoy and the problems they face to see in which way these are attributable to gender. This would help to better guide future Finnish policy in respect of gender equality. Some 110,000 young people between the ages of 20 and 30 have no further education other than the 9-year mandatory schooling. About 70,000 of these are men. At all levels men are more likely than women to interrupt their education. Men also participate less in adult education than women.

Budget talks: Increase in VAT, changes to pensions and benefits
(22.03.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

AKT boss out, victory for the sacked comms chief
(22.03.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Unemployment rate 7.7 per cent in February
(20.03.2012 - link to the web site of Statistics Finland)

Major Finnish-based companies have expanded their workforces abroad, while reducing them in Finland

Helsinki (16.03.2012 - Heikki Jokinen, Juhani Artto) In the 2000's 13 major Finnish-based multinational companies have almost doubled their personnel abroad to about 234,000. In the same period they have cut the number of their employees in Finland by nearly a third to 105,000. The proportion of their employees working abroad rose, in a decade, from 47 per cent to 69 per cent, researchers Ritva Oesch and Pekka Sauramo report in a new article.

Older salaried employees are pushed out of working life
by employers, Pro's survey reveals

Helsinki (14.03.2012 - Juhani Artto) In 2011, almost 25 per cent of private sector salaried employees, from 60 to 64 years of age, were given notice by their employers. Among those from 55 to 59 years of age nearly 15 per cent lost their jobs as a result of their employers' decisions. In the age brackets of younger salaried employees the dismissal rate was well below 10 per cent. These are some of the major findings in a survey published on Wednesday by the salaried employees' trade union Pro. The figures are based on replies given last year by 14,000 rank and file members of the union. These people work, for example, as experts and supervisors in industry and in the service, financial, ICT and communication sectors.

Gender equality has improved too slowly

JHL (08.03.2012 - Juhani Artto) Work to improve gender equality has not proceeded as anticipated. Voicing the right principles and coming up with good programmatic declarations have not been enough to bring about effective change, claims Jarkko Eloranta, the President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, in an interview published by the union on March 8 - International Women's Day. Currently 69 per cent of JHL's rank and file members are women.

Nordic women loose power despite Denmark's new prime minister
(08.03.2012 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Bullying allegations shake position of Transport Workers' Union leader
(06.03.2012 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

MEE's working life barometer 2011:
Relevance of work and willingness to work on the decline

Helsinki (29.02.2012 - Juhani Artto) The relevance of work and willingness to work are diminishing, say a majority of wage and salary earners, according to the latest working life barometer. It was published in January by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy (MEE). Recent annual reports reveal that this trend has been prevalent for a longer time already. In autumn 2011, when the latest material was collected and sifted, it was found that the number of negative replies (making up the majority) was even greater than in previous years.

SAK dissatisfied with the proposals for Finland's investment strategy

Helsinki (22.02.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) The union confederation SAK supports the idea of creating a national strategy aimed at attracting foreign investment to Finland. However, SAK is disappointed with the proposals* put forward by Jorma Eloranta, the retired CEO of Metso. SAK regards the proposals to cut company taxes as "unrealistic" and "unnecessary". The level of company taxation in Finland is nowadays below the average level of Western European countries, SAK points out. "Finland can be attractive to foreign investors only if it can offer them versatile skills, a predictable tax policy, incorruptible administration and stable circumstances", says Matti Tukiainen, the director of industrial policy at SAK. The proposals to improve the competitiveness of the forest industry should be implemented without delay, and SAK demands urgent action be taken to bring this about. The Paper Workers' Union shares this view. *One-man-committee Jorma Eloranta: More investment in Finland urgently needed, MEE press release 15.02.2012

To raise or not to raise?
Labour market organizations divided over minimum retirement age

Helsinki (20.02.2012 - Juhani Artto) The daily Helsingin Sanomat reported on February 11 that the board of the union confederation SAK has mandated its President Lauri Lyly to negotiate on the gradual raising of the minimum retirement age, if the average retirement age does not rise as planned. The labour market organizations and the government have set as their common goal that the average retirement age should be raised to 62.4 years by 2025. In 2011, the figure rose by 0.1 percentage points to 60.5.

STTK's board does not approve of raising
the minimum retirement age

STTK (20.02.2012) The board of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK does not approve of raising the minimum retirement age from 63 years to 65 years. The board finds the pension system to function well and reminds us that work careers have been extended as planned. The Finnish government has asked labour market organizations to agree on how to extend work careers. The common understanding should be reached by late March when the government handles the budgetary framework for the coming years.

Purchaser-provider model contains serious risks to services

JHL (13.02.2012 - Juhani Artto) Within municipalities, use of the so called purchaser-provider model in offering services to citizens is proving to be problematic, Teija Asara-Laaksonen said last week in Hämeenlinna. She is the Vice-President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors. The model in question serves to separate or divide the organizing of services from the actual provision of these services. Under current legislation municipalities are mandated to organize a wide variety of services, especially in the health, social and educational sectors. When applying the purchaser-provider model municipalities outsource services.

Municipal reform needs support of municipal employees

JHL (10.02.2012 - Juhani Artto) The profound and radical municipal reform plans envisaged by the government cannot succeed without the support of municipal employees, the board of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, made clear on Thursday. Genuine cooperation between the employer side and employees is one of the preconditions for establishing this support. Any efforts to harmonise wages and salaries in municipalities, which are to be amalgamated, must be negotiated in good faith and the necessary resources for facilitating this harmonization must be made available. Also, different personnel sectors must be treated equally and working conditions have to be developed and improved. These are among the altogether eight preconditions for employee support of the reform listed by JHL’s board.

German and Finnish unions fight against cuts at Nokia Siemens
(09.02.2012 - link to the web site of Int. Metalworkers' Federation)

Personnel have much to give when it comes to municipal reform

JHL (09.02.2012 - Juhani Artto) On Wednesday, a big step forward was taken towards comprehensive municipal reform when a task force, made up of civil servants, published its analysis and proposals. According to the task force the number of municipalities should be reduced - by amalgamations - to a maximum of 70 from the present 336. The most crucial thing in this reform is not the number of municipalities but the safeguarding of services, says Jarkko Eloranta, the President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors. "Therefore it is vital that the personnel are allowed to play an important role in the reform process."

STTK: Nokia has to bear economic responsibility for the dismissed

STTK (08.02.2012) Nokia's announcement that it was axing about thousand jobs is a direct deathblow to the mobile telephone assembly industry in Finland, says the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK.
"The information Nokia published on February 8 forces us to find some means for preserving the competitiveness of Finnish industry in the international market", states STTK's expert in industrial policy, Antti Aarnio. "Finland has to work out a strategy on how to develop industrial structures and policies. There is need that people can trust and believe in the ability of Finnish industry to employ people in the future."

Nokia to halt assembly at Salo plant
(08.02.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

STTK's Sund: OECD's diagnosis of Finland is correct and remedies
offered are proper in the main

STTK (07.02.2012) OECD published its country report* on Finland on February 7. Its main message is similar to the analysis of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK on the state of the Finnish economy. The challenges facing those steering economic policy are primarily in how to secure longer term growth. The financial crisis that began in 2008 has resulted in serious damage to productivity development. It is very important to repair this damage. "Finland has good reasons to balance its State budget also in the short term. However, it is decisive to carry out structural changes that have a longer term impact", says STTK's economic policy expert Ralf Sund. *Finland 2012, overview, OECD 07.02.2012 (a 33-page pdf-file)

PKC signs agreement with protection union in Mexico
(06.02.2012 - link to the web site of Int. Metalworkers' Federation)

Individual flexibility in working conditions act as an incentive
to continue working longer
 
Helsinki (06.02.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) The discussion on the proper retirement age is ongoing in Finland, as it is also in many other European countries. Employer organisations are in favour of raising the minimum retirement age, which is now 63. A new study, published by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, offers some useful suggestions on how to encourage employees to remain longer in working life. The study suggests that employers should take the individual wishes and situation of wage and salary earners better into account. Well-being at work and managerial skills should be improved.

STTK urges the well-to-do to bear their share of rising taxes

STTK (31.01.2012) The government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen is preparing measures to balance the State budget. Expenditure is to be cut and taxes raised. The original goal for the entire 4-year Parliamentary term was to save EUR 2.5 billion, but Raimo Sailas, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Finance, insists that savings must now be tripled to EUR 7.5 billion. Leila Kostiainen, the Secretary General of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK, argues strenuously that the cuts must be made in a fair manner and tax rises must be targeted even-handedly. She reminds us that in the last two decades the income gap has risen significantly.

Estonian builders trafficked to Finland
(26.01.2012 - link to the web site of Yle News)

High Court's decision improves the status of agency labour

Helsinki (25.01.2012 - Juhani Artto) On Tuesday the High Court made a decision that clearly improves the status of agency labour, says Katarina Murto, a bargaining expert at the union confederation SAK. The decision rejects the legality of the common practice of manpower agencies to make fixed-term employment agreements based on open-ended assignments procured from user companies. The High Court decision upholds the principle, written into the legislation, that fixed-term employment agreements can be made only in cases where the employee is needed only for a certain or specific period of time. In the case, now settled by the High Court, the need was deemed to be open-ended at the moment the employment agreement was signed.

Minister sees good employment prospects for municipal employees

JHL (23.01.2012 - Juhani Artto) There are plenty of job opportunities, now and especially in the future, in the municipal sector. This is the core message of Henna Virkkunen, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government, in her interview with Motiivi, the magazine of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL. A third of the current municipal personnel will retire by 2020 and with the population ageing rapidly this clearly makes for more demand in terms of health and social services, she argues. With this assurance Virkkunen wants to allay any fears municipal employees may have towards the profound restructuring of the network of municipalities now underway by the government of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen.

Journalists appreciate open, reliable and reachable labour market leaders

Helsinki (20.01.2012 - Juhani Artto) What kind of experiences have journalists had, in the course of their work, when dealing with unions and their leaders? And what kind of qualities do journalists appreciate when working with union representatives? A recent survey throws some light on these matters. The replies from 178 journalists, working at various levels and in various sectors of media organizations, leave no doubt as to what journalists appreciate when it comes to the unions' engagement with the media. The most important qualities are -in this order- promptness, openness, reliability, availability, willingness to engage, and being up-to-date with the issues at hand.

"Shortage" of low-paid part-time workers
(20.01.2012 - link to the web site of Service Union United PAM)

SASK has multiplied its reach during its first 25 years of action

Helsinki (17.01.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland SASK recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. I believe that it is safe to say that the organization has far exceeded the expectations of the some 40 union representatives who participated in the founding meeting of SASK on 5 November 1986. A short summary of SASK's development demonstrates why such a claim is justified. Its work has significantly expanded and developed when measured by all essential criteria.

JHL wins landmark case in relation to fixed-term employment

JHL (12.01.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL) in a highly significant case on Wednesday. The dispute concerned the use of fixed-term employment in a job that was financed by the EU's Structural Fund appropriations that were allocated annually to the employer. According to the Supreme Court, this form of financing does not justify the use of fixed-term employment contracts when the tasks involved were of a continuous nature.

Presidential elections in Finland:
Campaign paraphernalia are mostly made in Far East

Helsinki (05.01.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) Almost all of the eight candidates in the Finnish presidential elections, which will take place on January 22nd 2012, have ordered their campaign gift products from abroad, reports the Industrial Union TEAM. The campaign pins, mugs, t-shirts, scarves, chocolate and other products are mainly made in the Far East or in some cases in the other European countries, TEAM discovered. Print work is more often than not done in Finland. The chairman of TEAM Timo Vallittu reminds us that employment in Finland is to a large extent determined by the purchasing decisions of individuals and organisations. "Small decisions have a major impact on employment. Business gifts employ especially small companies and are labour-intensive."

Disruption to electricity supply underline vital need
for skilled electricians and lumberjacks

Helsinki (02.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) After Boxing Day there has been an urgent demand for skilled lumberjacks and electricians. The demand was created by the storms Finland experienced on Boxing Day and in the days following. The storms were exceptionally strong for this Northern European country, and knocked down, according to first estimates, some 3.5 million cubic meters of trees. The economic loss for forest owners is estimated to be tens of millions of euros but the day-long cuts in electricity supply has been the main focus in the public domain. When things were at their worst almost 300,000 homes and other customers were left without electricity. Tens of thousands of customers had to live without electricity for several days, which is exceptional in Finland. One week after Boxing Day still about 10,000 homes suffered of the broken electricity lines.

Economists at the Finnish union confederations say:
The European Central Bank has to play a central role
in solving the euro crisis

Helsinki (30.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) Economists for the three Finnish union confederations (Akava, SAK and STTK) published a discussion paper on the euro crisis one month ago. The 11-page paper examines and analyses the root causes of the present crisis and includes several proposals on how to get out of it. The economists stress the need to safeguard the solvency of the crisis states and also the need to recapitalise European banks in general. They consider that the new stability instruments, the EFSF and ESM, are not sufficiently extensive. However, for economic and political reasons they cannot be expanded through national budgets. "The only operational alternative that remains, is to increase the role of the ECB", the economists conclude.

Workers' gender pay gap narrowed in the industrial sector

Helsinki (29.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) In the second quarter 2011 the average wages for female workers in Finnish industry were 84.9 per cent of average wages for male workers. In one year the gap has slightly narrowed but it was marginally larger than in the fourth quarter 2006. In the second quarter 2002 the corresponding figure was 80.5 per cent.

Purchasing power of wage and salary earners will increase in 2012

Helsinki (28.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) In Finland talk on the economy in the media has in recent months been very pessimistic despite the fact that purchasing power for wage and salary earners is expected to grow in 2012. The constant pessimistic utterances coming from experts have succeeded in undermining people's confidence in their own economic and financial viability to such an extent that it echoes autumn 2008 when recession badly hit European economies. These gloomy sentiments ignore the prognosis published by the Taxpayers' Association of Finland (TAF) earlier in December. TAF estimates that wages and salaries will increase on average by 3.4 per cent, whereas prices are predicted to rise by 2.6 per cent. As taxes will slightly increase the real value of wages and salaries will improve on average of 0.6 per cent.

JHL campaigns for equal rights to people in atypical employment

JHL (27.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL began in May 2011 a campaign for equal rights to people in atypical jobs. The campaign has chartered its way forward in various forms and in many kind of events. Just before to Christmas the 2011 campaign reached its climax when a 5-meter long scarf was presented to Lauri Ihalainen, the Minister of Labour and former President of the largest union confederation SAK. The scarf was knitted during those events by hundreds of people, each contributing a small section. Even Tarja Halonen, the President of the Republic, participated in this knitting-project in support of atypically employed people's rights.

Many municipalities plan to recall work that has been outsourced

JHL (14.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) Many municipalities and joint authorities (set up by two or more local authorities to tend to specific tasks on a permanent basis) are disappointed with the results of outsourcing. And the dissatisfaction is so great that up to a fifth of these public organizations plan to take back outsourced work so that it can be done once again by their own personnel. This is one of the major findings from the latest questionnaire directed at JHL (Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors) shop stewards in local and joint authorities.

Disability a hindrance also to the labour market
(12.12.2011 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Tax number crackdown on of-the-books builders
(12.12.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

A third of construction workers in Helsinki region are from abroad
(09.12.2011 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Foreign companies have 215 000 employees in Finland

Helsinki (09.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) Last year, the almost 3,000 affiliates of foreign companies in Finland employed 215,000 men and women. This adds up to15 per cent of all company personnel in the country. The share of turnover was even higher, 20 per cent. Affiliates of Swedish companies employed over 70,000 persons, U.S. companies over 20,000 and both UK and German companies slightly below 20,000. Foreign-owned manufacturing units had some 65,000 employees, wholesale and retail trade over 40,000. The third largest sector with its 20,000 employees was information and communication. - Source: The turnover of foreign affiliates grew in 2010, Statistics Finland 25.11.2011

Polish Elektrobudowa re-employs the electricians it sacked arbitrarily

Helsinki (07.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Electrical Workers' Union announced on Friday that it has settled the dispute concerning the arbitrary sacking of dozens of organized Polish electricians at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant construction site. The Polish company Elektrobudowa SA has committed itself to re-employing all of the electricians it sacked in mid-November. However, their jobs will not be in Finland but in Poland. Their status will improve nonetheless, as they will now have permanent employment relations as opposed to the temporary arrangement they had in Finland.

Disparity in life expectancy between income quintiles has increased alarmingly

Helsinki (05.12.2011 - Juhani Artto) The life expectancy increased from 1988 to 2007 in all income quintiles except for the lowest one which has effectively been stagnant since the early 1990s. These trends have led to an alarming disparity in life expectancy between the highest and the lowest quintiles. At the age of 35, the disparity widened from 7.4 to 12.5 years among men and from 3.9 to 6.8 years among women. This is the major finding of a new study made at the University of Helsinki. There was less of an increase in disparity between occupational social classes and no stagnation among manual workers was observed. - Click below to view the article on the study in Lääkärilehti: Tarkiainen-Martikainen-Laaksonen-Valkonen, Tuloluokkien väliset erot elinajanodotteessa ovat kasvaneet vuosina 1988–2007; the English language summary on page 8/8

Rapid government involvement has alleviated unemployment
in areas of "abrupt structural change"

Helsinki (30.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) Since 2007 the governments have reacted to abrupt structural changes with a certain set of measures designed to mitigate the rise in unemployment. A new study* indicates that the method has had a positive impact. Unemployment has clearly risen after all the redundancies and closure of factories but gradually, as a result of the measures adopted, the development has begun to follow the direction of other parts of the country, the researchers conclude. Since 2007 altogether 22 areas, as well as the maritime industry, have been entitled to receive assistance as "areas of abrupt structural change". In almost five years governments have directed EUR 220 million for this purpose.

Finnish pulp, paper unions make gains
in 2012-2014 industry-wide pacts
(29.11.2011 - link to the web site of ICEM)

The framework agreement will regulate working conditions
of 94 per cent of wage and salaries earners for next two years

Helsinki (28.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) Early on Monday morning the last obstacle on the road to the acceptance of a new labour market framework agreement was overcome. Then the trade union of transport drivers and port workers AKT and its employer counterpart agreed on details on how to apply the framework agreement, approved in October by the labour market confederations. And so, the same morning these various confederations concluded that support for the agreement is broad enough to take effect. At noon the government announced that it had come to the same conclusion. This means that all public sector employees and 91 per cent of the private sector employees are now covered for the next two years (or 25 months) by the regulations agreed upon in the framework agreement. - Read also: The 25-month agreement between labour market confederations will raise wage and salary earners' purchasing power (14.10.2011)

Financial sector agreement applies the framework agreement

Pro (25.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) Financial sector bargaining has ended satisfactorily with agreements this Tuesday that apply the framework agreement signed in mid-October by the labour market confederations. This means that the strike, due to begin on Wednesday morning, and the retaliatory lockout threatened by the employers, will now not go ahead. And the overtime ban has been lifted to take immediate effect. The agreements cover some 23,000 employees, working at banks and other financial industry work places. They take effect retroactively from November 1 this year and expire on 30 November 2013.

State employees will get pay rises on basis of framework agreement

JHL (23.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) The new state employees' collective agreement follows the pattern outlined in the framework agreement, signed in October by labour market confederations. The agreement takes effect on 1 March 2012 and expires on 31 March 2014. Wages and salaries of all employees, covered by the agreement, will be raised on 1 March 2012 by 1.9 per cent. However, the rise has to be at least EUR 39.50 per month. In March all will also receive a EUR 150 lump sum. A further pay rise of 1.4 per cent for wage and salary earners, working for the state, kicks in on 1 April 2013. On 1 March 2012 and on 1 March 2013 wages and salaries will be raised on average by 0.5 per cent on the basis of the outcome of local negotiations.

Municipal employees' new collective agreement applies
the framework agreement

JHL (23.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) Negotiators on the new collective agreement for some 350,000 municipal employees reached common understanding on Wednesday. The end result applies the framework agreement, signed in mid-October by the labour market confederations.
The municipal sector agreement takes effect on 1 January 2012 and expires on 28 February 2014. The cost impact of the first 13 months will be 2.4 per cent. On 1 January 2012 all municipal employees will get a pay rise of 1.7 per cent. The remaining 0.7 per cent of the pay increase will be used for financing the qualitative changes in the agreement. These changes include, among other things, six days of paid paternity leave and the scrapping of regulations that have discriminated against temporary employees with regard to their annual leave rights. A EUR 150 lump sum will be paid in January 2012.

Polish company sacks dozens of organized electricians
from the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant construction site

Helsinki (18.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Polish company Elektrobudowa Spolka Akcyjna has given notice to 32 Polish electricians at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant construction site. Most of the sacked workers are rank and file members of the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union. According to Finnish unions, the company has let it be known that it will also dismiss the remaining organized Polish electricians by the end of the year. At the end of October 190 Elektrobudowa SA's employees were rank and file members of the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union. The company has around 360 employees altogether at the Olkiluoto construction site.
Among the sacked electricians were many who earlier this year sued the company for unpaid salaries.

How do the unions handle the new debate on salary gaps?
(13.11.2011 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Minister of Labour Lauri Ihalainen:
Improved competence will safeguard Finland’s future
(11.11.2011 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Tight schedules speed up negotiations on how to apply the framework agreement

JHL (10.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) This is a hectic time for the people involved in the collective bargaining process at the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL. The deadlines to complete negotiations on how to apply the framework agreement, signed by the labour market confederations on October 13, are fast approaching. The goal is to have new agreements ready in all sectors, represented by JHL, by November 24. All other unions that have approved the framework agreement as their bargaining starting point face the same challenge. The following day the labour market confederations will meet and conclude whether the framework agreement has been approved broadly enough or not. The agreement will take effect only if the approval rate is regarded as representative. If such a conclusion cannot be made, the agreement will not bind the government to honour its commitments i.e. keep its part of the bargain, and the entire framework agreement will not take effect.

Strike threat in the financial sector: Employers have not been ready to negotiate on the basis of the framework agreement

PRO (09.11.2011) Almost 3,000 bank employees will strike from 6 a.m. on November 23 until midnight on November 30, unless the collective bargaining leads to an agreement prior to that. The threatened strike action has been announced by the salaried employees' trade union Pro and the bargaining organization of the senior salaried employees YTN. The overtime ban, declared on Monday, is to continue and affects the entire financial sector. The parties have been negotiating a new agreement since early September. According to Pro's President, Antti Rinne, the disagreements concern both salaries and qualitative regulations on working conditions. Unlike employers in most other industries, financial sector employers have not been willing to negotiate on the basis of the framework agreement, signed in October by the labour market confederations.

Introduction of stock options and low taxation on capital incomes have caused a swift and sharp widening of the income gap

Helsinki (09.11.2011 - Timo-Erkki Heino) For a long time after World War II and up until the mid-1990s Finland was often described as "a moderate society". But then came an abrupt change. Income inequalities, which had slowly been diminishing during this period, started to increase rapidly. The roots for this income divide can be traced back to two decisions taken during the early 1990s' recession and banking crisis. In 1993 the centre-right government introduced the so-called dual income taxation. This meant that earned income, wages and salaries, continued to be taxed progressively, which for top earners was rather high. However, capital income, i.e. income from stock or share dividends and capital gains etc., were taxed at a very low flat tax rate of 25 per cent. The second reason for the mid-1990s' great divide was the introduction of stock options as compensation or bonuses for CEOs and top management in Finnish companies, in keeping with practises elsewhere around the world.

YTN technology industry news: A fair solution
(07.11.2011 - link to the web site of Akava)

International support for striking managerial staff
in technology industry

Helsinki (05.11.2011 - Juhani Artto) The striking managerial staff in the Finnish technology industry has received support from the International Metalworkers' Federation IMF and the European Metalworkers' Federation EMF. In its message to the trade unions that represent the 10,000 strikers IMF states: "The IMF fully supports your demands for same wage increases that were achieved a week ago in collective bargaining negotiations for other workers in the Finnish technology industry. Employers cannot unilaterally decide at the local level who gets wage increases. Compensation pay for salaried workers when travelling outside of working hours is fair and justified."

A new study on OECD countries:
"The decline in the labour share is highly likely due, at least partly, to the weakened bargaining power of labour"
Helsinki (05.11.2011) "According to the results presented in this paper, it is clear that there has been a trend-like decline in the labour share in most major OECD countries at an unchanged rate of unemployment", Pekka Sauramo writes in a new study, published recently by the Labour Institute for Economic Research. "The interpretation of this kind of decline is not straightforward, but it is highly likely due, at least partly, to the weakened bargaining power of labour", Sauramo concludes. - Read the entire study: (a 29-page pdf-file): The relationship between labour share and unemployment: the role of wage-setting institutions.

"No more pay for women this year"

Helsinki (27.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) On 26 October the union confederation STTK drew attention once again to how slowly the gender pay gap is being narrowed and how much still remains to be done to eliminate it. The timing for this reminder was not chosen randomly but consciously. On 26 October 82 per cent of this year had passed and in Finland, on average, women earn 82 per cent of men's wages and salaries. And so STTK decided it was an opportune moment to generate a bit of publicity for a worthy cause by declaring on 26 October "no more pay for women this year". Media publicity was guaranteed.

JHL's new President criticizes the British concept of "Big Society"

JHL (27.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) "The Big Society seems to have small services", JHL's new President Jarkko Eloranta concludes in his column in JHL's magazine Motiivi. The Big Society Eloranta refers to is the slogan chosen by the British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative Party. "The empowerment of communities and individuals sounds very positive, providing a veneer of idealism to the Big Society concept ", Eloranta writes. "But, in reality what really lies behind the Big Society idea concerns the economy: the need and especially the desire to cut taxes which will inevitably result in cuts to public services and social welfare."

Finnish metal strike over
(25.10.2011 - link to the web site of IMF)

STTK: The framework agreement will improve employees’ security
amidst changes in working life A summary of the framework agreement

STTK (24.10.2011) The framework agreement, signed by the labour market confederations, includes a framework for pay rises and measures aimed at improving the quality of working life. The goal of the agreement is to increase the purchasing power of salaried and wage earners, to enhance employment while at the same time adding an element of predictability, and thus stability, to the economy. The board of the union confederation STTK approved the framework agreement unanimously on October 13.

Strike begins in the technology industry:
Both unions and employers turned down the proposal of the National Conciliator

Helsinki (21.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) About 30,000 salaried and wage employees at 37 technology industry companies began a strike 6 a.m. on Friday. The proposal put forward by the National Conciliator, Esa Lonka, was rejected by both the employers and the three unions representing the employees. The unions involved in the dispute are the private sector salaried employees' union Pro, the Metalworkers' Union and the Electrical Workers' Union. The major stumbling block was the pay structure presented by the National Conciliator. The Metalworkers' Union wants a solution whereby a large part of the pay rise awards translate as equal amounts of cents for all with the locally negotiable share of the pay rises remaining minimal. In his statement Pro's President Antti Rinne says that the proposal did not guarantee equal minimum pay rises to all and that too large a share of the pay rises was left at the employers discretion.

Pro now negotiates on how to apply the framework agreement
signed by the labour market confederations

Pro (18.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) On Saturday Pro and the Metalworkers' Union approved the framework agreement, signed by the labour market confederations, as the framework for their collective bargaining in various industries. If these two unions, representing employees in the technology industry - the largest export sector in Finland - had turned down the framework agreement, the entire agreement would have collapsed. In the Metalworkers' Union 38 delegates voted for approval of the framework agreement, and 12 delegates voted against it. Bargaining in the technology industry continued on Monday. The National Conciliator is involved in efforts to resolve disagreements. The overtime ban, announced by the concerned union organizations is still in effect and covers the entire technology industry. The schedule for these negotiations is very tight.

The 25-month agreement between labour market confederations will raise wage and salary earners' purchasing power

Helsinki (14.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) For the first time in four years the labour market confederations agreed on Thursday to a centralized collective agreement. Economists belonging to the confederations expect the 25-month agreement to slightly improve the purchasing power of wage and salary earners. The agreement includes two pay rises (2.4 per cent and 1.9 per cent), a EUR 150 lump sum and several changes in working life regulations. In addition, the government has promised to make the agreement more attractive by tax cuts for both employees and companies together with a few other measures. So now, the ultimate fate of the agreement rests with the unions and respective employer organizations. The agreement will not come into effect unless a substantial proportion of the national unions and their opposite numbers from the employer organizations can agree on sector based collective agreements, respecting the framework set up by the confederations.

Government's proposal threatens to cut already low wages
by hundreds of euros at Defence Forces' catering services

JHL (12.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) Wages for the Defence Forces' catering services will shrink by anything between EUR200 to EUR400 per month, if the government's proposal is approved by Parliament. This is totally unacceptable and contradicts the government's own programme, says the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Services JHL. Parliament is due to make the final decision on the matter in December.

Disagreement on pay rises brings to an end confederation level collective bargaining

Helsinki (05.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) Negotiations for a comprehensive income policy agreement ended on Tuesday after failure to reach agreement on pay rises. The two employer confederations (Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and Local Government Employers KT) offered 2.4 per cent for the first 13 months and 1.9 per cent for the following 12 months. The union confederations SAK and STTK turned down the proposal as too low. The third union confederation Akava would have liked to continue the bargaining process and wait and see what kind of tax cuts Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen would promise to smoothen the path towards a confederation level agreement.

Pro and Metalworkers' Union and Electrical Workers' Union issue warning of strike action

Helsinki (05.10.2011 - Juhani Artto) The trade union of private sector salaried employees Pro, the Metalworkers' Union and the Electrical Workers' Union announced on Tuesday of their intention to go on strike at 44 companies in the technology industry. Over 32,000 salaried and wage employees will take part in the strike from 21 October to 7 November if the parties fail to reach new collective agreements.

Rautaruukki subcontractor ordered to pay Polish workers thousands of euros in back wages
(04.10.2011 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Union: Embassies exploit workers
(04.10.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Government tries to implement zero tolerance policy towards
youth unemployment

Helsinki (30.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Finnish six-party coalition government is taking an ambitious stance towards youth unemployment. The goal is to get rid of it! This has been clearly outlined in the government programme and its implementation was launched last Monday, when the "youth social guarantee" task force was officially named and given wings.
The promise or guarantee is to offer every young person below 25 years of age and every recent graduate below 30 years of age, either a job, place to study, apprenticeship or rehabilitation. And the aim is for this to happen within three months from the beginning of the unemployment. The system should be functioning properly and smoothly by 2013.

Unions oppose cuts to job alternation leave compensation

Helsinki (28.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) All three Finnish union confederations - Akava, SAK and STTK - oppose the government's plan to cut compensation to employees who opt for job alternation leave. The government intends to cut the alternation leave compensation by 10 to 20 per cent from its present level. Employees on job alternation leave are entitled to compensation of anything between 70 - 80 per cent of unemployment benefit. The confederations are afraid that the planned cuts to compensation would make it difficult, especially for employees in low-pay jobs, to make use of the system of job alternation leave. The proposal made by the government would mean a saving in government expenditure of approximately EUR7.5 million. - Read more: Job alternation leave, Guide to working in Finland

General applicability of sectoral collective agreements in Finland
- A presentation by SAK's expert Jari Hellsten
(27.09.2011 - link to the web site of WSI)

Electrical workers' union puts in court claims for millions of euros
in respect of 115 Polish electricians

Helsinki (26.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Finnish Electrical workers' union is suing the Polish company Elektrobudowa for unpaid wages, overtime compensation and holiday pay and unpaid compensation for expenses. The claim amounts to over EUR2.7 million which has accrued from January 2009 to May 2011 at the construction site of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The claim concerns 115 Polish electricians who have joined the Finnish union.

Prayer ban in break room not discrimination
(23.09.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Polish workers at Olkiluoto earning slave wages
(23.09.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Jarkko Eloranta elected unanimously as JHL's new President

JHL (23.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) Jarkko Eloranta, 45, is the new President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL. He was elected on Thursday at an extraordinary meeting of the Union Council. The election was unanimous. The post became vacant when the long-time President, Tuire Santamäki-Vuori, was appointed Secretary of State to the Minister of Finance, Jutta Urpilainen. Eloranta had been JHL's Vice-President since 2007. His term as president will continue until June 2012. Then the Union Council - to be elected by ballot in March 2012 - will face the task of electing the top leaders of the union.

Nokia pays most of its employees in India well below a living wage

Helsinki (19.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) What does one do if the wage for full-time employment is not enough to cover the living costs of even a small family? This is an urgent question in Sriperumbudur in Southern India where Nokia and its subcontractors employ tens of thousands of workers in the manufacturing of mobile phones and related jobs. Nokia's contract workers and trainees are paid no more than EUR70 per month. At the two Foxconn factories they receive EUR80 per month. Contract workers' and trainees' wages at Flextronics and Salcomp are approximately on a par with the other two. It is not unimportant how much contract workers and trainees are paid as a majority of employees belong to these categories. Among Nokia's personnel they make up slightly less than half of all employees but a clear majority at Foxconn, Salcomp and Flextronics.

Joint bargaining effort by wage and salary earners' union organizations in the technology industry

Helsinki (16.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) Three union organizations, representing some 250,000 wage and salary earners in the technology industry, have agreed on common goals and pledged to act in unison during this current round of collective bargaining. This move is nothing short of historic as it is the first time that these separate employee groups have sought to combine forces in this way. The three organizations in question are the Metalworkers' Union, the salaried employees union Pro and the bargaining organization of senior salaried employees YTN. They are aiming at a one and a half year agreement during which there would be a two-stage pay rise. The first of these would mean an increase of EUR0.67 per hour or EUR110 per month. For employees in the higher pay bracket the rise should be at least 4 per cent.

Finland hunts for a new salary model
(07.09.2011 - link to the web site of Nordic Labour Journal)

Binding regulations are needed on human resources
in old people's care

JHL (01.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) An act on how to ensure that elderly people get the care they need is under preparation. A draft was finalized back in the spring but it was not sent to the Parliament prior to the Parliamentary elections held in April. The new government promises in its programme to bring its proposed law before the new Parliament. However, it will not be the draft from last spring as Maria Guzenina-Richardson, the Minister of Health and Social Services wants changes to the draft.
Discussion on how to develop the draft is now going on. Teija Asara-Laaksonen, the 2. Vice President of the JHL, mentions two elements lacking from the draft. According to her the act should include binding regulations on the minimum size of human resources in the open services and on the self-determination of the elderly people in question.

Mass redundancies and scare tactics colour
the start of the new round of collective bargaining

Helsinki (01.09.2011 - Juhani Artto) The summer vacations are now over and labour market organizations are sharpening their weapons for the new round of collective bargaining. Naturally, the employers are trying to take advantage of the uncertain economic outlook by painting the future with dark colours and more ominously by also announcing drastic redundancies. On the other side of the battlefield trade unions are doing their utmost to encourage their rank and file members by drawing on data that throw serious doubt on the signals being sent out by employers.

Economic forecast 2011-2012  
(30.08.2011 - link to the web site of Labour Institute for Economic Research)

JHL to elect its new President by the end of September

JHL (30.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL will get a new President at the end of September, when the Union Council will hold an extraordinary meeting for this purpose. The term of the new President will last until June 2012 when the new Union Council will elect the President for a five-year term. The current President Tuire Santamäki-Vuori has been appointed Secretary of State to the Minister of Finance and will take up her duties as the highest official below the minister on September 1. Santamäki-Vuori announced in May that she would not be seeking re-election for a new term as President of the JHL.
 
Labour market confederations search for a framework for collective bargaining in various industries

Helsinki (29.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) The employer stronghold, the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK announced on Thursday that its goal is to reach in the export industry "a responsible agreement that shows the direction for collective bargaining in other industries". Union federations were quick to turn down this proposal. Akava's President Sture Fjäder pointed out that EK is not in a position to dictate or impose public sector solutions, as it is not even one of the organizations that participate in public sector bargaining. SAK's President Lauri Lyly also rejected EK's proposal by saying: "We are offered the role of a pay police, not the one of a negotiator". And STTK's President Mikko Mäenpää joined the chorus by criticising EK for ignoring the basic goals of the trade union movement.

Changes to immigrant integration law coming up
(26.08.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Far higher levels of pay makes Finnish labour market
attractive for Estonians

Helsinki (19.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) In Northern Europe, there is a huge pay gap between two neighbouring countries, Finland and Estonia. Despite Estonia's rapid economic development since its declaration of independence in August 1991 average wages and salaries in Finland are several times higher than those in Estonia. The latter country of 1.3 million inhabitants faces a long, uphill struggle if it is to reach its aspirations by 2020 - in terms of GNP per capita – and take its place alongside Europe's top-5 countries, as Prime minister Andrus Ansip envisioned in February.

STTK rejects additional budget cuts

STTK (19.08.2011) The government should postpone budget cutbacks rather than plan additional cuts, the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK concluded on Wednesday. The same logic should be applied to taxes. Tax rises should be postponed to a later date. Budget cuts and tax rises will only have a negative impact on domestic demand and thus weaken employment, STTK warns. As economic growth seems to be slowing down it is important to support domestic employment and growth, STTK argues. It says that European debt crisis stresses good management of the public economy.

JHL's President Tuire Santamäki-Vuori chosen as Secretary of State to the Minister of Finance

JHL (15.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) JHL's President Tuire Santamäki-Vuori, 58, is to be appointed Secretary of State to the Minister of Finance, Jutta Urpelainen. She will take up her duties as the highest official below the minister on September 1. The appointment covers the term of the minister.
Santamäki-Vuori announced in May that she will not be seeking re-election for a new term as President of the JHL. A new union president will be elected in June 2012 by the Union Council. JHL announced on Thursday that the tasks of JHL's President have temporarily been handed over to Jarkko Eloranta, 45, who has been number two in the organization since 2007. On August 25 JHL's board will finalise leadership arrangements for the period up until the June 2012 meeting of the Union Council.

Foreigners living in Finland are much younger
than Finnish nationals

Helsinki (12.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) In 2010, the average age of Finnish nationals was 42.4 years, slightly above the EU-27 average (41.5). On average foreigners and foreign-born people living in Finland are much younger. The average figures for the above are 32.9 and 34.3 respectively, whereas the figures for EU-27 are 34.4 and 40.0. As Finland suffers from an ageing population it is fair to say that Finnish society and its labour market have benefited from immigration. The Finnish trade unions are well aware of this and welcome immigrant labour to work in Finland as long as Finnish legislation and Finnish collective agreements are applied to their working conditions.

Employer tries to circumvent working hour legislation by encouraging employees to form cooperatives

JHL (08.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) Raasepori is a town with a population of 29,000 situated on the Southern coast of Finland. And now the town council is encouraging family child-minders, employed by the town, to give up their current status and form cooperatives, established by themselves. According to the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Märta Wikström, Raasepori's director for the day-care sector, admits that this move by the town is an attempt to circumvent the working hour legislation.

Steel workers end walk out over cheap labour use
(06.08.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Steelworkers protest against wage dumping concerning
Polish construction workers

Helsinki (05.08.2011 - Juhani Artto) Over one thousand employees at the Rautaruukki steel plant in Raahe join in the two-day strike action that began on Thursday morning. The employees seek to demonstrate their solidarity with the Polish workers who have been repairing a blast furnace at the plant since June. The Polish workers are victims of wage dumping, the Finnish Construction Trade Union claims. The masons should be paid at least EUR15.54 per hour but their actual wage is EUR4 per hour or even less. This became apparent last week when authorities inspected the plant. In addition, the eleven-hour work days without days of rest - that these Polish workers are expected to do - is a serious breach of the legislation governing working hours.

A fifth of all hotel chambermaids have experienced
sexual harassment

Helsinki (31.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) The case against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn's brings to light the risk of sexual harassment chambermaids working in hotels face daily. In Finland, studies conducted by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health have repeatedly documented that sexual harassment is more common in the hotel and catering sector than in any other industry. Around one tenth of hotel and catering sector employees have experienced sexual harassment at work, the Institute's studies claim. Amongst hotel chambermaids the problem may be even more prevalent. A clear indication that this is so comes from a recent mini-survey conducted by PAM, the magazine of the Service Union United PAM. The magazine mailed its questionnaire to some 500 organized chambermaids. Twenty-five per cent replied and twenty per cent of the respondents claimed to have experienced sexual harassment at their places of work in various hotels around the country.

Pro's Rinne: One must not bow down to violent deeds - Trade union Pro expresses its deep condolences for the grief of Norwegians

Pro (26.07.2011) President Antti Rinne expresses on behalf of the trade union Pro condolences for the political terrorist act that has shocked Norway and people all around the world. Rinne is adamant that people must not bow down to violent deeds. We must continue the work for social development, based on freedom, mutual responsibility and equality, he insists. Read the president of the trade union Pro, Antti Rinne's message of condolence in full.

It is time to consider standing for JHL's Union Council

JHL (21.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Union Council is JHL's supreme policymaking body. It consists of 120 representatives elected for five years by direct ballot. The next election will take place from 12 to 28 March 2012. For the ballot the country is divided into 11 regions. Anybody who has become a JHL rank and file member by the end of July 2011 is eligible to stand. The candidates on the ballot are elected at meetings of local chapters. The meetings must take place between 1 October 2011 and 31 January 2012. There is also another way to become a candidate. That happens by forming an electorate association that approves the candidacy of the rank and file member.

Reaction to extreme wage dumping:
Considerable number of Polish electricians join the Finnish union

Helsinki (17.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Electrical Workers' Union has good news from the construction site of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant on the Finnish West Coast. More and more Polish electricians have come to realise that they are being badly exploited by their Polish employers and have joined the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union. From Elektrobudowa alone, over one hundred Polish electricians are now rank and file members of the union and benefit from its legal advice and other services. Thus, a third of the company's electricians at the Olkiluoto site are now organized.

Employers disturb almost half of foremen during their vacation

Helsinki (11.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) The from four to six week vacations enjoyed by Finnish wage and salary earners rank high among the achievements of the Finnish trade union movement. However, nowadays employers often interfere with vacationers' well-earned leisure time by
contacting them with various requests. Mobile phones and mobile net connections have made it technically easy for employers to contact their employees whenever the need arises. A new survey made by the salaried employees' trade union Pro gives a detailed picture on how often these interventions take place. Among private sector salaried employees, in the worst case scenarios are foremen/supervisors, as employers are likely to contact 41 per cent of them during their vacation. On average 28 per cent of the private sector salaried employees can expect to be disturbed during their vacation by their employers.

JHL opens up special web site on working conditions in atypical jobs

JHL (07.07.2011 ) In the 2000s working conditions for employees in atypical jobs have improved but they still do not have the same rights and benefits as the permanently employed, full-time employees. The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sector JHL has been in the forefront in the fight for equal rights of employees in atypical jobs. In late June JHL began to use a new tool in this fight. The union opened up a special web site on atypical employment issues. The Finnish language material sets out to explain some basic facts on working conditions for employees in various forms of atypical employment. The material covers all the major groups of atypical employment: fixed-term employment, part-time work, self-employment and agency labour. In Finland about 700,000 men and women work in atypical forms of employment. That makes up almost 30 per cent of the present labour force of 2.5 million.

Atypical jobs offer poorer vacation rights

Helsinki (07.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) Trade unions want employees in atypical jobs to have identical rights as wage and salary earners in permanent full-time jobs. However, regulations on working conditions in atypical jobs still fall short of this demand. This is true also concerning the length of annual leave. "The logic is this: The shorter the employment relation is and the more it diverges from the typical employment relation, the poorer the annual leave rights are", Anu-Hanna Anttila, a sociologist from the University of Turku, writes on SAK's web site.

The government aims to create 90 000 new jobs

Helsinki (01.07.2011 - Juhani Artto) Raising the employment rate to about 72 per cent from the present level - clearly below 70 per cent - is one of the cornerstones of the strategy of the new government, led by Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen from the National Coalition Party. (click to the graph on employment rate 1989-2011 - http://www.findikaattori.fi/41/). According to the new labour minister Lauri Ihalainen (former President of the union confederation SAK) reaching this goal demands the creation of 90 000 new jobs in the next four years. In the present economic environment the goal is very ambitious and many vulnerabilities shadow the road leading to the goal. It is fair to say many people regarded this goal as unrealistic. But trade unions are totally committed in their support for the plan to improve employment opportunities.

Berry pickers get advice in four languages
(28.06.2011 - link to the web site of SAK)

Unions: Better competitiveness should mean better pay
(27.06.2011 - link to the web site of Yle News)

New government programme taxes high incomes more heavily than before
(21.06.2010 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Trade unions satisfied with the new government programme

Helsinki (20.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) The basic line of the new government programme is acceptable to the trade unions. This indisputable conclusion may be drawn from early comments made by the Presidents of the three union confederations (Akava, SAK, STTK) and also from the reactions of Presidents of several large national trade unions, such as JHL and PRO. The 89-page programme consists not only of general outlines with respect to future policy but numerous concrete solutions. The government is determined to put an end to growing inequality and bring about at least a modest improvement in the standard of living of poor people. The spike in the budget deficit will be slowed down significantly and unemployment will decrease, assuming that the fairly brisk economic growth continues. Trade union leaders regard trends of this nature as necessary and fair.

Pro's President Antti Rinne: Working life element
of the new government programme is well balanced

Helsinki (20.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) The new government programme includes several goals held dear by Pro, such as working life regulation, more training during working hours and three-tier cooperation. Trade Union Pro regards the new government programme as providing a good basis for the development of working life and extended working careers. "The working life aspect of the programme is well balanced and directs discussion on how to extend working careers into measurable, tangible realities", Antti Rinne, the President of Pro proclaims.

JHL is satisfied with the general direction of the new government programme but criticizes cuts in financing of municipal services

Helsinki (20.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) Tuire Santamäki-Vuori, the President of the Trade Union for Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, regards the new government programme as decent considering the difficult starting points of the negotiations. JHL welcomes the plan to develop the structure of municipalities so that stronger municipalities - in contrast to the current situation - would be responsible for organising services. JHL is also grateful for the decision to offer municipal employees proper job security when carrying out structural changes after 2013. The existing job security guarantees were due to end in 2013.

ILO plays an active role in the Arab world
‑ interview with Kari Tapiola, ILO

Helsinki (17.06.2011 ‑ Juhani Artto) "Recent events in the Arab world came as much of a surprise to us, and no doubt to everyone else too", says Kari Tapiola* who works as a special adviser to ILO's Director‑General Juan Somavia. In the last few months Tapiola has mainly been working on issues arising from ILO's involvement in the Arab countries. The ILO has a long history in many parts of the Arab world. Within the region there is a huge need for assistance revolving around issues covered by the ILO's mandate: employment, social justice, trade union rights etc. The changes now taking place will most certainly add to requests for ILO's services, Tapiola goes on.

SAK comes out strong and united from its 18th Congress

Tampere (08.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) SAK, the union confederation formed by 21 national unions with over one million rank and file members, updated its action program at the 18th Congress held on 6-8 June in Tampere. The context of the Congress was widely reported in English by SAK itself. The material was produced in cooperation with the Trade Union News from Finland. Click here for news, interviews and analysis from the Congress.

General discussion at the SAK Congress:
Affiliated unions broadly agree on confederation's line

Tampere (07.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) The speeches at the SAK Congress general discussion - altogether some 70 contributions – conveyed convincing evidence that the "SAK movement" has reached a broad consensus on its goals and the means to achieve them. This is not to say that there aren’t any disagreements. There certainly are, but they do not divide the movement into warring factions and it is safe to say any disagreements over strategy or tactics are handled in a concrete and open manner.

Ralf Sund, STTK:
"It is possible to simultaneously decrease income gaps
and balance the State economy"

STTK (06.06.2011) Although the parliamentary elections were held on April 17, Finland is still without a new government in early June. “What has gone wrong in the negotiations?” asks Ralf Sund, the economic policy expert of the union confederation STTK, in his recent column in the daily newspaper Kaleva. “The unclear state of the Finnish economy is much to blame for the slow progress in the negotiations,” says Sund.

Wage and salary earners' real incomes are now decreasing
after a long period of steady increase

Helsinki (01.06.2011 - Juhani Artto) Statistics for the 2011 January-March quarterly period show that the real incomes of wage and salary earners were 1.0 per cent below the level for January-March 2010. It was back in July-September 2007 when quarterly statistics showed the last previous negative trend, but one has to go back to 1993 to find negative figures on an annual basis. When trying to assess 2011 as a whole, current data available suggests negative growth in respect of the real value of wages and salaries. Collective agreements signed since August 2010 have meant lower pay rises when measured against inflation.

Akava elects an experienced lobbyist Sture Fjäder
as its new President

Helsinki (27.05.2011 - Juhani Artto) Akava, the union confederation that represents teachers and a broad spectrum of academic professionals elected a new President on Wednesday. He is Sture Fjäder, 53. He has been an Akava's board member since 1995 and has worked in different capacities for SEFE, The Finnish Association of Business School Graduates, since 1989. Recently, he was named as SEFE's Head of Policy Development. Akava consists of 34 affiliated unions, totalling 550,000 rank and file members. Membership has more than doubled in last two decades.

Older than 45 - too old in current job market?
(23.05.2010 - link to the web site of YLE News)

SAK wants lowest pay to be raised to EUR1,800 per month by 2016

Helsinki (23.05.2011 - Juhani Artto) The union confederation SAK is set to approve EUR1,800 per month as its next goal for minimum pay. This proposal is included in the draft action program 2011-2016 for the SAK Congress on June 6-8 in Tampere. The idea is to reach the goal by 2016. In real terms this would bring it into line with the norm set by the EU in its Social Charter. According to the latter a wage or salary is decent when the after-tax or net income is at least 60 per cent of the national median pay. At the moment the lowest acceptable pay should be close to EUR1,600 per month if the norm is respected. Unfortunately, this is not the situation. There are still employees, holding down full-time jobs, who receive less than EUR1,500 per month - SAK's minimum pay goal in recent years.

JHL thanks the City of Espoo for taking a stand
against grey economy

JHL (23.05.2011) The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL is pleased with the steps taken recently by Espoo City Council to tighten up on the control of the services it purchases. Espoo, with its 250,000 inhabitants, is the second largest city in Finland. Just a few months ago, there were reports that companies, which had been caught for flagrant tax evasion and usury-type work discrimination, were still cleaning schools and day-care centres for the city. Now, Espoo has also begun to cooperate with the police and the tax authorities to stop the illegal use of labour. And a special fee, for breaching agreements, has been added to the cleaning services contracts.

Technology Industries put industrial peace at risk by arrogance

Pro (23.05.2011) The Trade Union Pro and The Federation of Finnish Technology Industries began collective bargaining on salaries for 2011 on April 19. It was agreed that the parties would try to reach an agreement by the end of May. On May 4 Pro gave the employer side its proposal for salary increases. Salaries should be raised by EUR90 per month, or by at least 3.5 per cent. However, on May 20 employer negotiators announced that Pro's demands differ so widely from the employers' ideas that they could not put forward any proposal for salary rises under the circumstances.

A follow-up card for workers exposed to asbestos

Helsinki (17.05.2011 - Juhani Artto) Experts estimate that about 200,000 Finns have been exposed to asbestos. At least 10,000 of them have succumbed to asbestos-caused illnesses, and in recent years around one hundred have died annually as victims of asbestos exposure during their working lives. At this point in time the number of serious illnesses related to asbestos is approaching the top-most level. Now a new tool has been introduced to make it easier to find out the true cause of an asbestos-related illness. This tool is a follow-up card. It is filled with data on exposure and on possible occupational disease. All follow-up health checks and their results and plans for the future treatment are written on the card.

Finnish paper: Walk-outs intensify because of strike-breaking
(13.05.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Why should a cleaner learn Finnish?
(13.05.2010 - link to the web site of PAM)

JHL: Social security for self-employed must be improved

JHL/Trunf - Helsinki (06.05.2011 - Heikki Jokinen, Juhani Artto) A fairly new item on the agenda of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL is safeguarding the interests of those who are self-employed. But before delving deeper into this, we should note some basic facts concerning the situation of the self-employed in Finnish society today. Some 160,000 people earn their living as self-employed persons, which makes up seven per cent of the total labour force - far less than in many other EU member states. In the last two years the number of self-employed in Finland has grown by 20,000. Only a few years ago not many trade unions paid much attention to the interests of the self-employed but more recently an increasing number of organisations have begun to elaborate their policy on safeguarding the interests of this heterogeneous group. The reasons for this are obvious enough, as those engaged in self-employment have managed to penetrate most industries in one way or another.

Mediation fails in Finnish paper strike:
Strikes continue
(03.05.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Labour confederations open help line for summer workers
(02.05.2010 - link to the web site of SAK)

More cases under investigation:
Hungarian condemned for usurpy-type work discrimination
in Finland

Helsinki (02.05.2011 - Juhani Artto) The representative of the Hungarian employment agency Èszak-Èke Kft has been engaged in usurpy-type work discrimination in Finland, the District Court of Pirkanmaa concluded in early April. The company had employed Hungarian employees to work in a metal working company in Parkano in Western Finland and paid them a monthly wage from EUR517 to EUR595. According to the collective agreement of the technology industry they should have been paid a monthly wage of about EUR1400.

23 rank and file members of the JHL elected
to the new Finnish Parliament

JHL (28.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) The April 17 parliamentary elections in Finland proved highly successful for members of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL. Out of the JHL 113 candidates who stood, no less than 23 were elected to the 200-seat parliament. 17 are Social Democrats. 4 represent the Left Alliance, one the True Finns and one the Centre Party. These MPs and members of the JHL come from all major regions of the country. In fact, most members of the new Parliament are rank and file members of trade unions. The figure is over 120. This is not new as the Parliaments elected in 2007 and in 2003 also had a majority of MPs organized in trade unions.

Finnish paper strike heats up - further help needed
(26.04.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Most MPs of the new Parliament are rank and file members
of trade unions

Helsinki (24.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) Big changes characterise the April 17 Parliamentary elections in Finland, but - as in the previous Parliament - a clear majority of the MPs are rank and file members of trade unions. Over 120 of the 200 MPs have union affiliation. Some 60 MPs are members in the unions that are affiliated members of the highly educated employees' confederation Akava. At least 39 MPs are rank and file members in unions of the union confederation SAK and 22 MPs in unions of the salaried employees' union confederation STTK. In addition, several journalists, organized in the independent Union of Journalists in Finland, were elected.

The truth about the election winners - the True Finns

Helsinki (24.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) The rise of the True Finns as a political force in the April 17 Parliamentary election is by far the greatest and most overwhelming change to affect the Finnish political scene in over 60 years. The True Finns gained an astonishing 34 new seats in the 200 seat parliament, bringing their total to 39 (they held 5 seats during the last parliament). In many foreign commentaries the True Finns have been characterized as a party of xenophobic, nationalist, anti-EU, populist and extreme right-wing people, but, in my view, it is a bit too early to make such a sweeping judgement. There are indeed grounds for applying such labels but they may also serve to create wrong or distorted images among people who are not well aware of how Finnish society functions.

Leila Kostiainen, the General Secretary of the STTK:
Employment issues at the forefront of the government programme

STTK (24.04.2011) Although the result of the Parliamentary election was a something of a surprise, Leila Kostiainen, the General Secretary of the STTK, believes that STTK will enjoy good cooperation with the next government. "STTK always strives to have good cooperation with the government regardless what parties have formed it. And so it will be now also. We do not foresee any obstacles to this being the case." Kostiainen expects the inter-party negotiations to lead to a majority government that will be able, together with the labour market organizations, to push the economy forward.

Polish engineering firm concedes to Finland's Metalliliitto
at nuclear plant
(18.04.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Almost 3,000 TeliaSonera salaried employees set to initiate strike
on Monday

Pro (15.04.2011) Although up to 300 jobs are under threat, measures to soften the impact of losing one's job in Finland, are not as effective as in Sweden. Salaried employees at the teleoperator, TeliaSonera Finland (TSF) will begin their second strike in April in response to the company's plan to cut up to 300 jobs. An open-ended overtime ban, covering the entire TSF, has been effective as of Thursday morning. The strike begins on April 18 at 6 a.m. and will last for four days. Salaried employees at all 16 TSF units around the country will be out on strike. And, additionally, over 250 salaried employees of TSF's subcontractors and companies providing TSF with agency labour will join the strike. These companies are GoExcellent, Manpower Business Solutions, Staffpoint and Teleperformance.

Vast majority of Finns oppose privatisation of
"a significant proportion" of public services

JHL (14.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) Finns do not regard the privatisation of public services as a viable solution to society’s problems. Regardless of gender, age, place of residence, political orientation or status in working life a large majority say NO to privatisation of "a significant proportion" of public services. This conclusion is among the major results in the recent opinion survey, carried out by TNS-Gallup and commissioned by the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors. Only 16 per cent of the respondents agreed with the claim "A significant proportion of public services should be outsourced to private companies". 76 per cent disagreed with the claim. A similar divide between support and opposition was also found among both men and women and among people living in various parts of the country.

Finland's Pro announces further paper strikes
(13.04.2010 - link to the web site of STT / Helsinki Times)

A third of public sector organisations apply ethical criteria
in their work-clothes purchases

Helsinki (12.04.2011 - Heikki Jokinen) Ethical criteria have become more common in work-clothes purchases by public sector organisations. However, most still fail to give any serious consideration to the working conditions of their suppliers. This is the conclusion of a new study, carried out by researcher Päivi Pöyhönen and commissioned by Finnwatch. The study covers sixteen public sector organisations and three state-owned companies. And an interesting and positive development has been revealed by the study. Currently, one third of the above have introduced ethical demands, which must be met by their work-clothes suppliers. Four years ago a similar study revealed that at that time none of these public sector bodies had such demands in place.

Proliitto strike in Finland against paper firm UPM continues
(11.04.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Salaried employees take decisive measures
and opt for a two-week strike in the paper industry

Pro (07.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) In and around one thousand salaried employees, working for the forest industry company UPM-Kymmene, began a strike on Thursday morning. Pro, the trade union of salaried employees, believes that most of UPM-Kymmene's factories in Finland will interrupt their production this week. The strike is planned to go on for two weeks. The major disagreement between Pro and the employer organization Finnish Forest Industries Federation concerns the salary system. Salaried employees of the paper industry want to have a similar salary system to the one applied in most industries where Pro represents salaried employees.

Akava and Trade Union News from Finland begin cooperation

Helsinki (05.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) Akava, the union confederation of
highly educated employees, has begun to cooperate with Trade Union News from Finland. Akava's decision reflects the union movement's need to enlarge its English language reporting. Internationally active Finnish union organisations want organised employees in other countries to be familiar with characteristics and developments concerning the Finnish labour market. - Akava and its 34 affiliates can be regarded as a success story. Over a 30 year period the affiliates have been able to more than treble the number of their rank and file members to over half a million. The organising rate in the various fields has risen, on average, to about 70 per cent. By way of international comparison this is a very high rate indeed, bearing in mind that the tradition of organising among highly educated employees has been of relatively brief duration. - Read more: Akava - Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland

Unions and NGOs want to have the right to sue on behalf of individuals

Helsinki (04.04.2011 - Juhani Artto) Under current Finnish legislation it is not possible for a trade union to sue an employer on behalf of its rank and file members or non-member individuals unless they have authorized the union to do so. Unions regard this as a serious injustice and demand new legislation - which would allow for what is presently impermissible - to be included in the next government programme. The right to sue has been among the top issues of the union organizations' election campaigns. The Council of Industrial Unions TP wants the right to sue to cover, for example, issues related to working hours, illegal dismissals, equality, occupational safety and neglect of joint counselling. The Council represents over 800,000 wage and salaried employees, organized in 14 trade unions. In the TP, there are unions from all three union confederations Akava, SAK and STTK.

TeliaSonera staff launch five day strike
(30.03.2010 - link to the web site of YLE News)

Finnish paper sector wage accords divert between ICEM affiliates
(28.03.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

Joint consultation to begin in late April:
Will Nokia cut thousands of jobs in Finland?

Helsinki (24.03.2011 - Juhani Artto) Jorma Ollila, the Chairman of the mobile phone giant Nokia's board, announced on Wednesday that the company will begin representations in late April as part of the joint consultation process with personnel. The talks concern 16,000 employees in Finland and elsewhere but in Finland, especially, this has raised great fears of drastic job cuts. Experts and many others have speculated that thousands may lose their jobs, since the announcement of the overhaul of Nokia's strategy. Nokia will replace the Symbian operating system in its mobile phones with Microsoft's software.

More fatal accidents and higher frequency of accidents in 2010

Helsinki (21.03.2011 - Juhani Artto) Last year the number of work accidents increased by 5 per cent from 2009. In part, this unwanted development can be explained by the economic upswing that has meant more people in employment and a concomitant increase in overall working hours. However, there has also been a clear rise in accident frequency. In 2009 there were 28 accidents per one million working hours and in 2010 the vital statistical figure rose to 30. Thus, the accident frequency rose by 4 per cent.

Efforts to narrow the gender pay gap have not been effective

Helsinki (08.03.2011 - Juhani Artto) A number of influential people have recently voiced alarm at how slowly the gender pay gap in Finland is being narrowed. Among them have been Leila Kostiainen, the Secretary General of the Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK and Pentti Arajärvi, a professor who has, since 2009, headed the high-level group monitoring the implementation of the government's equal pay programme. In 2006 the government and the central labour market organizations approved as their common goal to raise, by 2015, women's pay to 85 per cent of men's pay. Back then, in 2006, women earned, on average, 80.9 per cent of what men earned.

Security guards' strikes called off
(02.03.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Effective retirement age jumped upwards more than expected

Helsinki (28.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) In 2010 the effective retirement age rose to 60.4 years. It was the second year in a row of clear increase. Last year the jump upwards was even higher than expected by experts, no less than 0.6 years in one year. The common goal of the Finnish government and labour market organizations is to raise the effective retirement by three years by 2025, from the 2008 level of 59.4 years. Last year almost half of the increase of the effective retirement age was due to the abolishment of the unemployment pension for people who were born in 1950 or later. - Read more: Clear increase in the effective retirement age, Työeläke 1-2011, page 35   

Bus driving mainly an immigrant's profession
(25.02.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Nordic country trade unions in dialogue with ACFTU of China

Helsinki (23.02./24.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) In mid' February representatives of the largest union confederations* of the five Nordic countries and the official Chinese union organization ACFTU held a two-day seminar in Helsinki. Under discussion were major global issues, such as the economic crisis, unemployment, corporate social responsibility and collective bargaining. Also climate change, migration and international cooperation of the trade union movement were on the agenda. The Nordic unions firmly believe that dialogue with the Chinese union organization is preferable to efforts to isolate it, as was done in the past. "SAK has good bilateral relations with the ACFTU", Marjaana Valkonen, the Director for International Affairs of the SAK says.

Finnish trade union movement demands EU not intervene
in collective bargaining

Helsinki (22.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) The EU's plan to grab the right to control collective bargaining taking place in the Member States has been turned down outright by the Finnish trade union movement. This was the message of Mikko Mäenpää in his radio interview broadcasted on Monday morning by Yle. Mäenpää is the President of the Finnish Confederation of Professional STTK and a steering committee member of the European Trade Union Confederation ETUC. He urges Finnish politicians to ensure that the EU will not intervene in working life matters at national level. Intervention on bargaining and pay levels would be steps in a wrong direction and would be opposed by the entire trade union movement, Mäenpää stresses.

PAM warns of strike at Securitas

Helsinki (18.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Service Union United PAM has declared a three-day strike, to begin on Wednesday 2 March, at the security company Securitas. The strike is in protest against the company's deliberate action, which the union claims is designed to complicate collective bargaining negotiations which are underway in the security industry. The previous collective agreement for the industry expired on 31 January 2011. "The company has interrogated and put pressure on employees and shop stewards who have participated in industrial action. Securitas has also sent its employees a message where it urges them to leave PAM and to search for an alternative to it", explains Ann Selin, the President of PAM.

New agreements to maintain purchasing power of municipal
and state employees

JHL (17.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) Negotiators in the municipal and state sectors have reached a common understanding on new collective agreements. The aim is to give pay rises that will maintain the purchasing power of the employees. This was the main goal of The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL and the other unions representing employees. In the municipal sector the agreement covers some 430,000 employees, and in the state sector 88,000 employees.

JHL: Employers' offer for the municipal sector pay rises is too low

JHL (09.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) Collective bargaining in the municipal sector came to a head on Tuesday with the employer side offering a concrete offer. The proposal consists of a 0.8 pay rise for all on May 1 and a 0.7 locally negotiable pay rise on September 1. On an annual basis the rise for 2011 would thus remain below 1 per cent. Considering that inflation runs at around 2.4 per cent or even more the employers' offer would mean, in real terms, a reduction of municipal employees' purchasing power by about 1 per cent, says Tuire Santamäki-Vuori, the President of The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL. JHL and the other unions representing the municipal employees rejected the employers' offer outright, maintaining that the pay rises were too low. The unions' goal is to reach an agreement, which would uphold the purchasing power of municipal employees.

Bus drivers demand better security
(09.02.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Trafficking in humans often hidden away
(04.02.2010 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Finnish union confederations want the EU to put more pressure
on Belarus

Helsinki (02.02.2011 - Juhani Artto) Last Thursday, three Finnish union confederations - SAK, STTK and Akava –in a joint effort- issued a statement condemning the arrests and maul-handling of protesters after the December presidential elections in Belarus. Among those arrested were union activists and a number of those arrested are still imprisoned, the confederations say. They are now urging the EU to put pressure on Belarus to implement the ILO's recommendations on Belarus. The recommendations concern the implementation of ILO conventions on organizing and collective bargaining rights.

Ambitious goal of five municipalities:
All young people will be employed at least temporarily

JHL (31.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) Stakeholders in a new project believe that it is possible and imperative to organize at least temporary work for all young people who are not studying. The goal is ambitious as youth unemployment is high also in Finland. In November 2010 the unemployment rate of people from 15 to 24 years of age was 16.1 per cent. The project is to be implemented in five municipalities: Vantaa, Kuopio, Kotka, Uusikaupunki and Huittinen. In the municipality of Vantaa (pop. 200,000) the challenge is to find work, by April 1, for about one thousand young unemployed people. The idea is to employ each of these unemployed people for at least two months to give them valuable and confidence boosting work experience. In Uusikaupunki the goal is even more ambitious, as the project aims to offer work for three or four months.

Stora Enso bends to High Court's decision after irresponsible delay:
Strike participants will finally receive their performance bonuses

Helsinki (26.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) The Finnish-Swedish forest industry company Stora Enso announced on Tuesday that it will adhere to the decision made by the High Court in December 2010. It means that the company will finally pay performance bonuses to employees whose bonuses it had withheld because of their participation in strikes in 2005-2009. The company says to have reserved EUR21 million for cash expenses "related to performance-based rewards that were not paid due to illegal strikes in Finland in 2005-2009".

Bangladeshi cleaners paid slave wages in Finland
(19.01.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

Now organized employers make proposals to intensify fight against grey economy

Helsinki (17.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) The fight against the grey economy has taken an important step forward with the new initiatives being proposed by the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK. The powerful employer central organisation wants to make tax identification numbers mandatory for all persons working in the construction industry. Trade union organizations have welcomed EK's initiative on the tax identification number. Strong legislation is beneficial for both employees and honest entrepreneurs, emphasizes Matti Harjuniemi, the President of the 85,000 rank and file member Finnish Construction Trade Union.

Collective bargaining back in full swing in state
and municipal sectors

JHL (13.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) Pay regulations are the most important issues at stake in the collective bargaining process facing the state and municipal sectors, says The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors. The negotiations began on Monday. And the aim is to reach a common understanding by the end of January. Concerning negotiations in the state sector JHL's President Tuire Santamäki-Vuori wishes to make it very clear that employees must not be forced to foot the bill for the "sustainability deficit" in state finances. Pay rises must match rises in other labour market sectors. JHL also underlines the need to guarantee gender equality and a fair status for fixed-term employees.

New jobs hard to find for workers of closed paper mills
- salaried employees have fared somewhat better

Helsinki (03.01.2011 - Juhani Artto) In the last few years thousands of employees have lost their jobs as a result of pulp and paper mill closures. Esa Kaitila, a researcher working at The Paperworkers' Union, calculates that since 2006 over 4,000 of its rank and file members have lost their jobs due to closures. Director Markku Palokangas from the largest union of salaried employees PRO estimates that in the same period from 1,500 to 2,000 salaried employee jobs have been eliminated in the pulp and paper industry. A new study provides detailed information on how the workers of the closed mills in Hamina (Summa), Kajaani and Kemijärvi have fared in the labour market following the closures. Not well, as was indeed expected already 2-3 years ago when the closure plans were announced.

PAM's President Ann Selin lists her wishes for the New Year

Helsinki (30.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) Ann Selin, the President of the Service Union United PAM, has 26 wishes for the New Year. Some of them are as follows: More people get a job or place for studying. - Employees receive a living wage. - Part-timers get more working hours when they want to have. - The amount of temporary jobs decreases. - No temporary and permanent lay-offs. - Trust between employers and employees improves.

Finns among hardest workers in the EU
(29.12.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

One sixth of school assistants subjugated to weekly violence

JHL (23.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) It is surprisingly common how often school assistants are targeted violently at their work place, comments Kaijamaija Parviainen from The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL on the results of a recent survey. Over 600 school assistants replied to the questionnaire. Almost 3 per cent of the respondents encounter violence daily at their place of work. And nearly 15 per cent face the same unpleasantness on a weekly basis, and 12 per cent monthly. Around 30 per cent claim to have no violent experiences in their work. The remaining 40 per cent claim to have been targets of violence but with occurrences seldom ranging over once a month.

Stora Enso's strikers entitled to performance bonuses

TU (23.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) On Wednesday the High Court ordered Stora Enso to pay to its 200 salaried employees at the Oulu and Anjalankoski mills over  EUR200,000. This verdict finally brought resolution to a dispute originating from spring 2006. Then Stora Enso refused to pay performance bonuses to salaried employees who had taken part in the industrial action organized by their trade unions. The strike was a protest against the thousands of dismissals in the forest industry. The High Court's Wednesday decision concerns a fifth of the employees involved in the dispute. However, the remaining- almost 800 salaried employees- will also get the performance bonuses, which has up until now been denied them by their employer Stora Enso. The company now has to fork out over one million euros altogether in disputed performance bonuses.

Union confederation leaders' worried about deterioration
of three-tier cooperation

Helsinki (20.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) Since the late 1960s three-tier cooperation between the government and the labour market organizations has been an important element in the promotion of economic growth and in the development of the Finnish welfare system. Now there are serious signs of deterioration in this three-tier cooperation endeavour. Therefore, it is no small wonder that the Presidents of the two largest union confederations, SAK's Lauri Lyly and STTK's Mikko Mäenpää, have become alarmed by this trend. They have sought to analyse what has been happening in the latest issues of their organizations' magazines, Palkkatyöläinen and sttklehti.

Technology industry employers and unions work together to improve well-being at work

Helsinki (17.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) Well-being at work can be significantly improved in the technology industry. This conclusion marks the starting point of a new project in the industry that - with its 270,000 employees - plays a central role in the Finnish economy. Some 20 enterprises of various sizes and product sectors will participate in the project's pilot stage, which is already underway. The goal of the pilot stage is to test and develop methods and measuring tools applicable in the promotion of well-being at work. The long-term goal is to create a method (for developing well-being at work) that also allows for comparisons to be made on the progress being made at various work places. In 2012, once the pilot stage has been completed the project will be expanded and will reach hundreds of enterprises.

Nokia concludes co-determination talks:
800 jobs to be cut in Finland instead of predicted 850
(15.12.2010 - link to the web site of Helsingin Sanomat)

Railway Workers' Union and JHL amalgamate

JHL (14.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL and the Railway Workers' Union are set to amalgamate. The agreement to join forces was signed on 29 November. The amalgamation proper will be finalized by the end of 2011. JHL represents 220,000 employees in the public and welfare sectors. The Railway Workers' Union has 14,000 rank and file members. With the 234,000 rank and file members the amalgamated union will be largest in Finland. The merger, above all, serves to strengthen the position of organized labour in the rail traffic sector.

Broad political support in Finland to erase precarious worker abuse
 (13.12.2010 - link to the web site of ICEM)

TU and Suora amalgamate to become Pro

TU (13.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) The union of salaried employees TU and Suora, the union of the financial sector salaried employees, finally approved their amalgamation on Saturday. The new union Pro will be operative from 1 January 2011. The first steps in the amalgamation process were taken five years ago. The union has some 130,000 rank and file members in the private industry and service sectors. Within industry members are to be found in the large sectors such as the technology, forest, chemical and food industries. Also ICT, construction, energy and media industries are well represented.

In Finnish industrial sector the gender pay gap remains large

Helsinki (12.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) In the second quarter 2010 the average wages for women in Finnish industry were 84.4 per cent of average wages for men. The gap was marginally larger than in the fourth quarter 2007 and 2006. In the second quarter 2002 the corresponding figure was 80 per cent.

Grey economy issues now receiving much attention

Helsinki (29.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) The grey economy has now become a very real issue in Finnish politics. This may be seen as a reaction to the recent studies that indicate a rapid growth in the grey economy, with all its attendant malignant implications for society as a whole and in particular for all those companies operating legitimately and their Finnish employees. On November 9 the Ministry of Employment and the Economy set up a task force to appraise how the present administrative tools work in tackling the grey economy. According to the Minister of Labour Anni Sinnemäki, a central issue on the task force's agenda is to prepare amendments to the Act on the Contractor's Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out.

Paper union boss forced to step aside
 (24.11.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

TU's Rinne wants support to Ireland conditioned
by higher company tax

TU (24.11.2010) Antti Rinne, the President of the Union of Salaried Employees TU, rejects the plan to bail out Ireland without an assurance that Irish corporation tax be raised. "Finnish tax-payers should not be expected to allow Ireland to continue, after the bailout operation, its economic policy that is unfair and dangerous towards European wage and salary earners. Ireland has to bring its corporate tax back into line with the average level of the EU Member States. Ireland has succeeded in garnering foreign investments by means of unhealthy tax competition. One has to remember that employees lost jobs and states lost tax incomes in countries from where, for example, IT jobs were transferred to Ireland." In Ireland the company tax base is 12.5, in Finland 26 and on average in the EU Member States 23 per cent.

Turkish electricians returned home

Helsinki (22.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) In late September we reported on
suspicions that Turkish electricians are not being properly paid for building a new 400 kV transmission line in Southern Ostrobothnia
(www.artto.kaapeli.fi/unions/T2010/n28). These suspicions had been voiced by The Electrical Workers' Union. Soon after that Sauli Väntti, who is responsible for the union's work in the energy and ICT sectors, visited the work site of the Turkish company Internationale Freileitungsmontage (IFM) to gather information on working conditions. A week later - without any explanations - the 33 Turkish electricians returned home.

Study: Most long-term unemployed suffer from mental problems (12.11.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

STTK working to impact next government programme

STTK (12.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) Like other major interest groups and organizations, The Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK has prepared, in cooperation with its affiliated unions, a document in which it sets out its goals aimed at the next government programme. The Parliamentary elections will be held in April 2011 but STTK and the other interest organizations have had their own proposals for the next government programme ready for some time.

A new English language report explains how the municipal system functions in Finland

JHL (11.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) Municipalities play a big role in the lives of Finns. This is primarily due to the vast responsibilities municipalities have in organizing basic education and health care, social and many other vital services citizens need at various stages of their lives. How all this is organized is outlined in a new English language publication, published by the Government Institute for Economic Research VATT. The 65-page pdf-file can be loaded here. According to VATT the publication is the most comprehensive English language report on municipal finances in Finland.

Public sector unions help immigrant labour integrate
into Finnish society

Fipsu (10.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) The question of immigrants and immigration has become an important issue in the discussion and debate leading up to the April 2011 parliamentary elections. And the trade unions have also been doing their bit. They have reacted in a positive and responsible fashion to what has become an emotive issue subject to somewhat overheated handling. Two goals govern the union agenda on immigration and immigrants. Unions have created a multitude of activities that aim to help and speed up the integration of immigrant labour into Finnish society and its labour market. The first and number one goal is to prevent immigrant employees from becoming victims of social dumping.

Unions adamant:
Same rules for Finns must apply to immigrant labour

Helsinki (09.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) In Finland the question of work-related immigration is a fairly recent experience when compared with most other Western European countries. And, this is primarily due to the fact that Finland was a country -up until just a few decades ago- where labour emigration clearly exceeded work-related immigration. The role of the labour market organizations vis a vis labour-related immigration can be divided into two strands. The employers have emphasized the need for work-related immigration, mindful of the ageing population. For the same reason, the trade unions have admitted the existence of this need but the trade unions' interest has always focused on the rules concerning the use of foreign labour and on how these rules are respected.

Sharp divisions over shorter vacations, extended working hours
(06.11.2010 - link to the web site of Yle News)

SAK publishes a long list of initiatives to tackle grey economy

Helsinki (02.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) Data on the ever growing grey economy worries the union confederation SAK. "It is not only a question of lost taxes and fees but also the negative impact on the fairness of competition in business life, on the status of employees, on general tax morality and on the credibility of the entire tax system", SAK says in its large and detailed initiative on the grey economy, published on Tuesday.
The document includes 25 proposals on how to amend current legislation to make it a more effective weapon and barrier against the grey economy.

• Akava - Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland
• Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions SAK
• Electrical Workers' Union
• Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK
• Metalworkers' Union
• Paper Workers' Union
• Pro
• Service Union United
• TEAM
• Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL
• Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland SASK
• Union of Professional Engineers in Finland
• Wood and Allied Workers' Union