JHL (20.11.2104 - Heikki Jokinen)The JHL Union Council has decided to keep the membership fee for 2015 at the same level as now, 1.05 per cent of an employee's gross pay.
However, the Public and Welfare Sectors’ Unemployment Fund membership fee will rise a bit, from the 0.28 per cent of gross pay to 0.33 per cent. The total fee payable to the union and unemployment fund in 2015 will also be 1.38 per cent of gross pay.
The higher contribution to the unemployment fund is linked to growing unemployment. The fund has to have a certain guaranteed income and the fee is approved by the state Financial Supervisory Authority. This is the authority for supervision of Finland’s financial and insurance sectors.
Self-employed union members pay a flat fee of 20 euro per month. According to Finnish legislation they cannot be members of the union unemployment fund.
The Union Council had a lively debate on the question of a minimum membership fee. The latter is paid by members who have no earned income or minimum income due to retirement or unpaid working holidays, for example.
After several rounds of voting on different amounts proposed for the minimum membership fee the Union Council decided to keep it at the existing level, five euro per month. Full time students and some other similar groups with no income are entitled to a full exemption in regard to the membership fee. They do not have to pay anything.
The trade union and unemployment fund membership fees are fully tax-deductiblein Finland.
In the other member unions of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK the membership fee and unemployment fund fee together varies anywhere between one and two per cent of employee's gross pay.
The higher level of unemployment in the branch tend to make the aggregate fee higher. Taken together the union membership fee and unemployment fund contribution of the Finnish Construction Trade Union is for the year 2014, 1.7 per cent of gross pay, whereas the Finnish Prison Officers' Union fees amount to just 1.0 per cent.