Helsinki (04.11.2004 – Asko Laitinen) Erik Holmén, 44, is safety representative at the Fincoil mechanical workshop, which has been owned for about a decade by the US multinational Carrier.
Holmén is unhappy with the current setup: “It is very difficult to influence matters in a businesslike manner here. Duties are really dictated to us, and control is tight. The atmosphere is unpleasant. The dialogue that occupational safety work normally entails is lacking.”
The occupational safety system at Fincoil is based on the corporation's own Environment & Safety statute (EHS). Holmén's experience suggests that the joint safety committee has lost its purpose, as Carrier’s European management dictates regulations from its headquarters in France. The French management reports in turn directly to the USA, where the corporation’s Safety Director holds the reins.
Conflicts arise from hypocrisy in implementing the EHS regulation. While attention focuses on details such as the requirement to wear goggles, more substantial matters may remain in a poor state.
"On one occasion I got a written warning for making a junction without wearing goggles. However the supervisor himself brought a machine into the hall that was so fundamentally unlawful that I had to prohibit its use,” Holmén reports.
"The most important qualities of a safety representative are the ability to negotiate and to remain calm. However, I tend to get irritated when words and actions fail to correspond. This leads to pressure to sort things out."
Holmén keeps his occupational safety knowledge up to date. He feels that in this respect his competence in safety aspects stands him in good stead with respect to the employer's representative. The new local safety director is fully conversant with the corporation's regulations, but is rather less familiar with the Finnish occupational safety system.
Despite the concrete shortcomings in safety arrangements, human relations occupy most of Holmén’s time as safety representative. He feels that the human relation studies made by the enterprise have been superficial. Holmén would like more assistance from the safety authorities in these matters.
Above all Holmén would like to see some improvement in the workplace atmosphere. Edicts addressed from across the Atlantic Ocean only make matters worse. While efforts have also been made to improve the situation with the aid of occupational health officials, no willingness to change has been forthcoming.
*Originally published in February 2004 in Ahjo, the magazine of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union.