Archive

Helsinki (29.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) Finland introduced a reverse charge in VAT (value added taxation) for the construction sector on 1 April 2011. With reverse VAT it is the buyer of services that pay the VAT and not the seller as is common under the normal VAT system. In practice, this means that the main contractor is obliged to report and pay VAT to the Tax Administration (Inland Revenue) in respect of the entire work or project.

Preliminary results indicate that this measure has succeeded in reducing tax fraud, which was the main goal of the reform. According to the study, published on Tuesday by the Tax Administration, the changes boost state coffers by at least EUR 75 million more in VAT-revenue annually.

Helsinki (23.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) The public sector uses relatively more fixed-term employment relations than the private sector but the pay gap between permanent and temporary employees is wider in the private sector.This situation has remained unchanged for many years. In 2011, nearly 16 per cent of all wage and salary earners had a temporary job.

Almost 23 per cent of public sector employees were in fixed-term employment relations.At central government level the proportion was slightly higher than at local government level. In the private sector 12 per cent of the employees held temporary jobs. Less than 13 per cent of males worked as temporary employees, whereas 18.5 per cent of females had fixed-term employment relations.

Helsinki (14.11.2012 - Juhani Artto) The three union confederations in Finland - SAK, STTK and Akava – support the euro and the strengthening of EU's economic policy cooperation and regard economic coordination as essential.

However, when it comes to the question of EU economic steering the independent bargaining position of labour market parties must be fully respected, the union confederations stress.

This demand is included in the statement the three organizations presented on Wednesday to Jyrki Katainen, the Prime Minister of Finland. The statement is aimed to coincide with the day of action and solidarity the European trade union movement is organising on November 14.

Helsinki (08.11.2012 – Juhani Artto) The Finnish-based tyre manufacturer Nokian Renkaat uses anything from 40,000 to 50,000 tons of natural rubber annually. The processors and traders that provide natural rubber to the company have committed themselves to respect the code of conduct of Nokian Renkaat. However, the code’s reach is limited as it only concerns the personnel of the processors and traders themselves but not those of the rubber plantations or the intermediaries.

Helsinki (31.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the last quarter of 2011, the average monthly pay was EUR 3111*. In the space of one year it had increased by EUR 68. During the year prior to that the increase was EUR 66.

In the period from 2002 to 2011 these two figures (EUR 68 and EUR 66) were the smallest one-year rises of the average nominal pay. The highest increases were recorded from the last quarter of 2007 to the last quarter of 2008 (EUR 142) and in the following year (EUR 101) and in the preceding year (EUR 100).

JHL (25.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the municipal election of 28 October voters decide also on employer policy, says Jarkko Eloranta, JHL's President.
"The election result has an impact on municipal employer's policy decisions, and those decisions are felt especially in women's lives, as a big majority of municipal employees are women."
Eloranta stresses that outsourcing of municipal services so that cheaper collective agreements will be applied is a typical matter concerns women in particular.
"To a great extent it is their wages and working conditions that are in the play."

Helsinki (23.10.2012 – Juhani Artto) In Finland, every now and then the proposal to pay lower starting rates for young people as they enter working life rears its ugly head. Indeed, this is a favourite ploy of the entrepreneur associations. The union confederations SAK, STTK and Akava and the trade union solidarity centre SASK are unanimous in their condemnation of this call to lower young people’s pay saying that it is quite unnecessary and unfair in their joint press release.

Helsinki (16.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) Illegal treatment of immigrant labour seems to have become an integral part of Finnish working life. The latest exposure concerns 36 employees of the cleaning company Ariel Palvelut Oy that has had large assignments from public authorities in Helsinki and in Espoo. Most of the victims are from Sri Lanka, the union magazine PAM reports. In late September, the managing director and two supervisors of the company were convicted of aggravated extortion and other work-related crimes by Vantaa District Court.

Helsinki (09.10.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Employment and Equality Committee of the Finnish Parliament is organising a public hearing on Wednesday concerning working conditions at the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant construction site.

Despite intensive and concerted efforts by the trade unions representing workers at the site serious wage and salary dumping as well as working hour irregularities have prevailed. Also flagrant obstacles to workers joining union organizations remain in place.

SAK/Palkkatyöläinen (03.10.2012 - Aino Pietarinen) "In the EU, decisions are now being made in the name of economic policy coordination that will have a bigger impact on wage and salary earners than working life directives", warns Marianne Muona, the Acting Director of FinUnions (The Finnish trade unions representation to the EU).

Thus, the European Commission is extending the reach of its power to, among other things, wage and salary formation. This means that the Commission, through its coordination role, is seeking to circumvent power traditionally held by the labour market organizations, the European Parliament and Council who, together, normally impose working life directives.