More interest for
the merger proposal
between Finnish and Estonian unions
Helsinki (17.02.2009 / updated 17.02.2009 - Juhani Artto) Should
the Finnish and Estonian unions merge? In Jyrki Raina's opinion the idea is worth serious analysis and consideration. His comment was recently published in Ahjo, the magazine of
the Finnish Metalworkers' union.
Raina works as the secretary general of the Nordic IN, a federation of 22
Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic unions that represent 1.2 million
employees in the various industrial sectors and mining.
Nordic unions have supported Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian unions since the early
1990s. However, the support has not lead to a renewal of the Baltic trade unions, which
has caused frustration in the Nordic unions, Raina writes.
In the Baltic countries the organising rate has remained low and the influence of the
trade union movement on working conditions has remained relatively weak. According to
Raina, in the three Baltic countries there are discussions on forming larger industrial
unions but "the process is painfully slow". Larger unions, created by mergers of
smaller unions, would be able to organise, offer services to rank and file members and
negotiate national collective agreements, Raina envisions.
The idea to consider closer cooperation and, in the longer term, a merger of Finnish and
Estonian unions was presented, in August 2008, by Matti Huutola, the vice chairman of
Finland's largest union confederation SAK. Harri Taliga, the president of the
Confederation of Estonian Trade Unions (EAKL), has commented positively on Huutola's idea.
However,
Huutola was not the first trade union representative to bring the merger idea to the
discussion. In September 2007 Dave Seligson, the then researcher of the Finnish Chemical
Workers' Union, asked why not to amalgamate the industrial unions in Finland and Estonia.
"Finland and Estonia are neighbours, Their languages resemble each other and many
companies operate in both of the two countries", he argued. Later on, in January
2008, Seligson presented again the idea in the Estonia seminar of the Council of Finnish
Industrial Unions TP.
No doubt, mergers would give more impetus to trade union activity in
Estonia. But it could have positive consequences also in Finland, where a
large proportion of Estonian labour has remained unorganised, and thus
relatively easy prey for irresponsible employers.
In his column, Raina reminds us that in the USA, Canada, the UK and Ireland, there are
unions that are active in two countries.
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