Archive

JHL (09.06.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish Government issued new guidelines to state offices to avoid such reorganising of work that would lead to more demanding tasks and thus higher salaries. This decision is valid until the end of the year 2018.

The three main public sector collective bargaining unions JHL, Juko and Pardia condemn this in their joint statement. The unions say that the decision goes against the existing collective agreements and it cannot be followed.

According to the state collective agreements salary must rise accordingly when work becomes more demanding and personal competence grows.

Helsinki (07.06.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) Approximate estimates about the age at which Finnish employees are likely to retire have jumped considerably in five years. The preliminary data from Statistics Finland's Quality of Work Life Survey for 2013 clearly demonstrates this.

In 2008 the proportion of Finnish employees over 50 years of age who said they would retire at the age of 64 or later was 28 per cent, but in 2013 the figure was 37 per cent.

Women felt they could continue their working career longer than men did. The figure for women was 39 per cent and for men 32 per cent. The proportion of women holding this view has increased dramatically in the last five years.

The willingness to continue correlates strongly with the level of education and occupational status among employees. The higher these tend to be the greater the willingness to continue longer in working life.

JHL (27.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) State owned road and railway construction-cum-maintenance company Destia, has been sold to a private investor. The price for all shares in the company was 148 million euro and the buyer is Ahlström Capital, a Finnish private equity investment company.

JHL Chief Executive Officer Päivi Niemi-Laine sees the timing as bad and the price as far too low. "It makes no sense to sell off a profit making company in times of economic difficulties and especially not at such a ridiculously low price", she says.

She is astonished by the Government’s statement that the company is of no strategic value to the state.

Helsinki (26.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) Jorma Malinen was elected new chairperson of the Trade Union Pro at the weekend. The position became vacant two weeks earlier when the Pro Chairperson Antti Rinne was elected party leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland.

Trade Union Pro is the largest Finnish private sector union for clerical employees with 130,000 members.

At an extraordinary meeting of the Pro council Malinen was elected by a clear majority. He got 90 votes against 10 votes for Jouko Ahonen. Ahonen is the former chairperson of the Paper Workers' Union.

Helsinki (22.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) More than 90 per cent of Finnish politicians expressed a desire to defend the Nordic welfare model in the European Union. This came out in a survey on opinions offered by politicians and political leaders on topics relevant to the European Parliament elections.

Concerning the statement "Finland must defend the Nordic welfare model in the EU" 58 per cent of those who replied strongly agreed and 34 per cent agreed to some extent.

The Finnish welfare model was also seen as a good export product, with 41 per cent agreeing totally and 41 per cent giving qualified support to that notion.

JHL (19.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) Efforts to influence the European Parliament on behalf of public services have paid off, says JHL President Jarkko Eloranta. He offers railway transport as a prime example.

The European Commission presented to the Parliament legislative proposals known as the Fourth Railway Package. MEPs, however, amended the EU Commission’s proposal in many important respects.

One part of the proposed package sought to limit railway workers right to strike with an obligation to guarantee a minimum level of service level in the event of a labour dispute.

Helsinki (15.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) The number of labour disputes has risen somewhat in Finland, though the number is still low. In 2013 there were 121 labour disputes whereas in 2012 the number was 86.

The figures come from the latest data published by Statistics Finland and detail labour disputes organised by employees or employers in Finland. Most labour disputes result in strikes organised by employees. Last year 108 out of a total number of 121 labour disputes involved strikes.

The number of participants and lost working days is, however, relatively low in comparison with most of the years during this millennium. Last year 19,567 people were involved in strike action and 25,999 working days were lost.

Helsinki (07.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) Ten metalworkers in the town of Akaa have just won a record 57 million euro in the Eurolotto lottery. This may save their colleagues from redundancy.

Just before the news of the jackpot win, their employer, the SKS Toijala Works machinery factory, announced it would begin negotiations aimed at a reduction in the workforce. The company employs some 230 people. The SKS Group also has units in China, Poland, Sweden, Russia and Estonia.

Helsinki (05.05.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) In April the Finnish government introduced a proposal for a law making it compulsory for employers to report on gender pay gaps. This would cover jobs where women and men are performing the same work.

Should the proposed reform of the Equality Act be passed by parliament it will come into force at the beginning of next year.

The proposal will make it compulsory for companies with more than 30 employees to report to their personnel on the company equality plan.

The report must include information on classification, salaries and salary differences in respect of female and male jobs. Where there are differences, the employer is obliged to clarify to the employees the reasons for this.

JHL (28.04.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) Regulations governing working life are increasingly emanating from the European parliament. It is imperative that the voice of employees be also heard when it comes to decision making. JHL has just published its six main theses for the European Parliament elections.