Archive


Helsinki (04.12.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) In January 2014 Pekka Ristelä will become the new director of the FinUnions office in Brussels. FinUnions is the EU office of the Finnish trade union confederations Akava, SAK and STTK. It looks after the interests of Finnish employees and represents more than two million members who belong to the three confederations.

And what are the immediate tasks and concerns awaiting him in Brussels? "Elections to the European Parliament are now just half a year away and we will also get a new European Commission. The Commission’s programme for the next five years is important, as it will set the main policy lines to follow", Ristelä says.

Helsinki (03.12.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Members of the trade union confederation Akava are prepared to remain longer in working life than before. This is revealed in the latest survey commissioned by Akava and conducted by TNS Gallup.

Akava has been examining attitudes towards retirement among its members for some time now. Surveys aimed at sounding out members as to where they stand on this issue have been carried out in 2007, 2010 and 2013.

Akava, the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland, is a trade union confederation for those with university, professional or other higher-level educational qualifications. Together, Akava’s 35 affiliates have unionised more than half a million employees and professionals.

JHL (02.02.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) To turn one's back on Europe is no solution to anything in Finland, says JHL President Jarkko Eloranta. He urges Finns to vote in the forthcoming elections for the European parliament next spring.

"This time round we need an election result that conveys a strong desire to change the direction of Europe. There needs to be a demonstrable change towards a more social Europe, towards a workers' Europe and towards a European welfare policy."

We have to work for change and fight for it before the existing policy line destroys what we have been building on this continent for over one hundred years, Eloranta stresses.

Helsinki (26.11.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) A German catering company came close to bringing Finland to a standstill in the middle of November due to so called agreement shopping. A dispute over the Finnair catering service personnel collective agreement led to threats of solidarity strikes by transport staff unions. This would have had the effect of halting Finnish exports and disrupted a major part of goods transport.

The national flag carrier Finnair outsourced its catering services in August 2012 to the German company LSG Sky Chefs, owned by Lufthansa. LSG assumed full managerial and operational responsibility for the in-flight and catering service provider Finnair Catering, and in doing so acquired a new name, LSG Sky Chefs Finland. However, it is still owned by Finnair.

JHL (19.11.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) The JHL Union Council is pressing for a loosening of the austerity policy. According to the Council, the widely endorsed Pact for Employment and Growth brings stability and predictability in the Finnish economy and labour market.

The realisation of the pact should be hailed as a success and sign of mutual respect that is worth fostering. This mutual understanding and agreement shall not be eroded. The employees were very modest in their demands and in some cases had to endure a reduction in benefits or agree to pay-cuts.

Notwithstanding these sacrifices, temporary lay-offs and redundancies are increasing in the public sector. These measures and cutting back on services and outsourcing do not bring sustainable development. The end result is only more problems.

Helsinki (15.11.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Finnish companies operating in Mexico are beginning to accept free trade union activities in their factories, reports the Finnish watchdog Finnwatch. Metso has already removed the exclusion clause restricting the freedom to associate from their collective agreement.

In December 2012 Finnwatch issued a report focusing on Finnish companies operating in Mexico. The companies breaching employees’ rights were Huhtamäki, Kone, Luvata and Metso. The PKC Group had already earlier been exposed for similar unjust behaviour. The report was part of a Finnwatch programme that is supported by the trade unions JHL, Pro and Team, among other sponsors.

(03.11.2013 - Link to the web site of Yle News)

(03.11.2013 - Link to the web page of Service Union United PAM)

Helsinki (30.10.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) All three trade union confederations Akava, SAK and STTK look on the new national agreement for wages and salaries positively given the present severe economic situation. The confederations signed the pact for employment and growth - as it is officially called - on Friday evening 25 October.

Following that most unions and employers associations decided to join the pact; it covers some 93 per cent of the Finnish wage and salary earners. The main union to stay outside is the Finnish Construction Trade Union.

Helsinki (29.10.2013 - Heikki Jokinen) Most of the multinational companies active in Finland prefer to keep silent about their tax footprint. The German pharmaceutical giant Bayer is not one of them, and for a good reason: they pay full corporate tax for their companies in Finland.

The Nordic region headquarters of Bayer is located in Espoo, Finland. They also run a pharmaceutical factory in the city of Turku. Bayer has some 800 employees in Finland and 110,000 globally.

In 2011 Bayer was the third biggest corporate tax payer in Finland (84 million euro), leaving behind many multinationals based here, like UPM-Kymmene, Metsä Fibre and another pharmaceutical company Orion.