Industrial
trade unions to coordinate their goals
and action measures
Helsinki (08.12.2008 - Juhani Artto) In the next round of
collective bargaining the 13 members of the Finnish Council of Industrial Trade Unions
intend to strengthen and tighten up their mutual cooperation. A week ago the Council
decided to approve common goals and coordinate their actions more closely and in a more
systematic fashion during the bargaining process.
"The unions aim to agree, with the employers, on issues that stabilise the economy
and the labour market", the Council says.
The decision of the Council reflects the new situation in the labour market, brought about
by the new policy adopted by the main central organisation for employers, the
Confederation of Finnish Industries EK. The latter no longer supports the model of
comprehensive income policy agreements that had been the prevailing, and successful, model
applied since the late 1960s. In those agreements the government and the central labour
market organisations agreed on the framework of both labour market solutions and important
elements of economic and social policy.
According to the EK, this pattern does not leave enough space for enterprise and local
level collective bargaining. Despite the rejection major trade union movement actors, such
as the SAK President Lauri Ihalainen, have tried to convince the employers of the need to
agree on a framework for labour market solutions.
The 2007 round of collective bargaining went ahead without such a framework agreement and
without any close guidance by the three union confederations. The employer side has
concentrated power in the EK. In response the trade union movement has felt increased
pressure to amalgamate unions and also to tighten coordination between unions with common
interests.
The Finnish Council of Industrial Trade Unions represents 750 000 workers and salaried
employees. Represented on the Council are unions from all three union confederations, SAK,
STTK and Akava.
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