Archive

Helsinki (18.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) Currently, thousands of seasonal employees are working in Finland as berry pickers at the many strawberry fields scattered throughout the country.

Many are Finnish schoolboys and schoolgirls but since the 1990s a substantial proportion of strawberry pickers have been foreigners. Soon thousands more berry pickers will arrive in Finland to pick forest berries, such as blueberries, cloudberries and cranberries. Most of them fly into Finland from Thailand.

Helsinki (10.07.2012 - Juhani Artto) A new study conducted among rank and file members of the Metalworkers' Union indicate that employers' attitudes have hardened. Just 21 per cent of the respondents had been informed about changes in their work as early as the planning stage. The proportion of such employees has gradually decreased. In 2007 and in 2002 the proportion was 25 per cent, but in 1997 still 34 per cent.

And the number of employees who have been allowed to participate in training organized by the employer has also shown a decrease.

Helsinki (28.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Swedish watchdog Swedwatch collected data in spring 2012 on working conditions at four Chinese factories that produce products for Biltema, Clas Ohlson and Fiskars.

In the Nordic countries these three companies are well-known to most consumers looking for garden, hobby and/or home accessories.

The Finnish watchdog Finnwatch published its own analysis* on Monday based on the data put together by Swedwatch. The data concerns working conditions at four factories in Guangdong.

Helsinki (17.06.2012 - Timo-Erkki Heino*) More than one out of five, 22 per cent, of the board members and the CEOs of Swedish listed companies has been convicted of a crime resulting in fines or in custodial or suspended prison sentences.

The most common crime among the boards of directors and chief executives has been drunken or reckless driving. But also crimes endangering life and health, such as assault, were committed, as well as fraud and insider trading.

The findings were revealed in two research reports connected with the Sustainable Investment Research Platform SIRP at the Umeå School of Business in Sweden and headed by economics professor Lars Hassel.

Helsinki (11.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) When the Finnish nuclear power company TVO speaks about the construction site of its third nuclear power plant OL3, it sounds as if the company is either a cynical liar or totally ignorant of the reality on the ground.

On Thursday 7 June 2012 the company released a statement insisting on its strict respect for the legislation, collective agreements and the organizing rights of the employees. It also pledged its assurance that all of its subcontractors, and in turn, all their subcontractors, would follow the same principles

Helsinki (06.06.2012 - Juhani Artto) The Swedish union publication Dagens Arbete surprised its readers on May 3 by claiming that a paperworker cost their employer in Finland over 1.5 times more than in Sweden last year. According to the news an operating employee cost EUR 43 per hour in Finland as opposed to EUR 28 per hour in Sweden on average.

And still according to Dagens Arbete, an operative employee in the pulp and paper industry, wage costs in Finland were not only higher than in Sweden but also higher than in other rich countries. In Germany the average hourly cost to the employer was EUR 36, in Austria EUR 32, in France EUR 31, in the USA EUR 30, in Canada EUR 26 and in Japan EUR 24, Dagens Arbete claimed.

Helsinki (28.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) What is the status of employees in fixed-time jobs and part-time jobs, of agency labour and of self-employed and how to develop and enhance their status? These are the questions on the table of a tripartite task force that was established by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy last year 2011.

The task force published its first report in mid-May. It identifies some major problems these groups face in the labour market. Generally speaking, they do not have all the rights that employees in full-time and permanent employment relations have and also their economic status tends to be lower than that of their full-time, permanent job colleagues.

Helsinki (21.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the 2000s, Finland, Denmark, Germany and Sweden have waged an active labour market policy. They have continuously reformed their labour markets in order to balance supply and demand.

All four countries have succeeded fairly well in this demanding task, at least when comparing their achievements with other EU Member States. In these four countries employment rates are higher and unemployment rates lower than in EU Member States on average.

Helsinki (09.05.2012 - Juhani Artto) In the Finnish labour market ethnic minorities face discrimination at the recruitment stage in particular. At work places and in termination situations ethnic discrimination is not as common as at the recruitment stage. These are some of the major findings in a new study* on discrimination in the labour market.

The study covers all labour-related categories and all grounds prohibited under the Finnish Non-Discrimination Act. According to the study, other grounds, such as age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and opinion, do not lead to labour discrimination as frequently as ethnicity (and nationality and language, which are closely related to ethnicity).

Helsinki (04.05.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) An overwhelming majority of Finns regard it as necessary for wage and salary earners to join a union. When asked how necessary it is to organize 46 per cent of the respondents say it to be "very necessary" and another 46 per cent "rather necessary".

This is among the most important findings in a survey covering the population from the age of 15 upwards. The statistically representative sample was 1,000 and the individual interviews were made in March 2012. The survey was commissioned by the three trade union confederations SAK, STTK and Akava.