Six SAK unions sign agreement on their organising spheres
Helsinki (24.04.2006 - Juhani Artto) Six SAK unions have signed
an agreement on each and everyone’s particular organising spheres. The unions in
question are the
- Chemical Workers' Union
- Construction Trade Union
- Electrical Workers' Union
- Media Union
- Paper Workers' Union
- Wood and Allied Workers' Union
In the last few years, the need for this kind of agreement
has become evident due to manoeuvres by employers. Some have unilaterally tried to change
from one collective agreement to another. The employers' motive has been purely and simply
an attempt to chase down agreements more beneficial to themselves.
The most noticeable cases have involved certain Nokia subcontractors, such as the
Taiwanese-owned Foxconn. They have unilaterally tried to replace the plastic industry
collective agreement with a collective agreement applicable to the so-called technology
industry. This has also created contradictions between a few SAK unions.
The new agreement between the six unions will effectively prevent mutual disputes arising
in organising spheres. In the agreement, the unions commit themselves not to
approve new rank and file members from work places targeted by employers' in
above-mentioned manoeuvres.
With the new agreement in place the six unions will be in a better position to resist
efforts by employers to unilaterally decide on the collective agreement to be applied.
The six unions encourage other national unions to join the agreement and to do so before
the end of the validity period for current collective agreements.
When publishing the new agreement the six unions also made public their decision to study
alternatives with a view to establishing a common organisation. The goal is not to merge
the six unions but to reorganise the functions that support the core task of the unions,
i.e. safeguarding the interests of their rank and file members. Study work on the nature
and shape of the organisation, due to be established in the future, has been under way
since last autumn.
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