Archive

Helsinki (17.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) Well-being at work can be significantly improved in the technology industry. This conclusion marks the starting point of a new project in the industry that - with its 270,000 employees - plays a central role in the Finnish economy. Some 20 enterprises of various sizes and product sectors will participate in the project's pilot stage, which is already underway. 

The logic behind the project plan rests on the assumption that when employees' begin to fare better and feel better about the work they do their motivation and work abilities also improve. And this lays the ground for extending working careers - a goal generally accepted and approved by society. Extending work careers not only means later retirement (or a higher age of retirement) but also healthier working years in the earlier stages of employees' lives.

The name of the project is "Good work - longer working career".

TU (13.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) The union of salaried employees TU and Suora, the union of the financial sector salaried employees, finally approved their amalgamation on Saturday. The new union Pro will be operative from 1 January 2011. The first steps in the amalgamation process were taken five years ago.

The union has some 130,000 rank and file members in the private industry and service sectors. Within industry members are to be found in the large sectors such as the technology, forest, chemical and food industries. Also ICT, construction, energy and media industries are well represented.

The rank and file members work as salaried employees, hourly paid employees and foremen or supervisors and in expert jobs. The union organizes self-employed professionals, too.

Helsinki (12.12.2010 - Juhani Artto) In the second quarter 2010 the average wages for women in Finnish industry were 84.4 per cent of average wages for men. The gap was marginally larger than in the fourth quarter 2007 and 2006. In the second quarter 2002 the corresponding figure was 80 per cent.

Helsinki (29.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) The grey economy has now become a very real issue in Finnish politics. This may be seen as a reaction to the recent studies that indicate a rapid growth in the grey economy, with all its attendant malignant implications for society as a whole and in particular for all those companies operating legitimately and their Finnish employees.

On November 9 the Ministry of Employment and the Economy set up a task force to appraise how the present administrative tools work in tackling the grey economy. 

According to the Minister of Labour Anni Sinnemäki, a central issue on the task force's agenda is to prepare amendments to the Act on the Contractor's Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out.

Helsinki (22.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) In late September we reported on suspicions that Turkish electricians are not being properly paid for building a new 400 kV transmission line in Southern Ostrobothnia. These suspicions had been voiced by The Electrical Workers' Union.

Soon after that Sauli Väntti, who is responsible for the union's work in the energy and ICT sectors, visited the work site of the Turkish company Internationale Freileitungsmontage (IFM) to gather information on working conditions. A week later - without any explanations - the 33 Turkish electricians returned home.

Helsinki (09.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) In Finland the question of work-related immigration is a fairly recent experience when compared with most other Western European countries. And, this is primarily due to the fact that Finland was a country -up until just a few decades ago- where labour emigration clearly exceeded work-related immigration.

In the early 1970s and again in the late 1980s employers cautiously broached the question of the need to import foreign labour but in both instances the debate flitted out quickly as the timing for addressing this very issue, ironically enough, happened to coincide with periods of recession and high unemployment.

It is fair to say the real starting shot in the discussion and debate on work-related immigration began with the immigration policy programme, approved in October 2006, by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's government. Labour market organizations participated in its preparation.

Helsinki (02.11.2010 - Juhani Artto) Data on the ever growing grey economy worries the union confederation SAK. "It is not only a question of lost taxes and fees but also the negative impact on the fairness of competition in business life, on the status of employees, on general tax morality and on the credibility of the entire tax system", SAK says in its large and detailed initiative on the grey economy, published on Tuesday.

The document includes 25 proposals on how to amend current legislation to make it a more effective weapon and barrier against the grey economy. These proposals are grouped into six blocks. 

The first aims to put domestic entrepreneurs on an equal footing with foreign companies. As the situation now stands, according to SAK, foreign companies can easily evade their tax and other monetary obligations. It helps them win tenders unfairly as their costs are lower than those of their Finnish competitors.

Helsinki (20.10.2010 - Juhani Artto) Cleaners and other property service employees will see their wages rise significantly in the next five years.

The collective agreement between the Service Union United PAM and the employer association Kiinteistöpalvelut ry, announced on Tuesday, raises wages by over 20 per cent. The minimum tariffs will rise by 16.5 per cent and the rest will come from annual wage hikes.

The agreement will raise minimum wages of property services to the level of other service industries. The parties believe that it will ease the
recruitment problems cleaning and other property service companies have been having. At present the lowest tariffs for cleaners is slightly below EUR8 per hour.

Helsinki (20.10.2010 - Juhani Artto) It all began in spring 2009 with the then Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's proposal to raise the minimum retirement age from 63 to 65 ... and ended up on Wednesday in a comprehensive programme by a tripartite committee on employment and economic growth. The programme consists of over 90 proposals, none of which touches on the minimum retirement age. The committee's task force on how to extend working careers will continue its work.

Representatives of all three parties -the government and the employer and employee organisations- were seemingly happy when presenting the report. Much of the findings will most probably be included in the next government programme, once a new government is formed after the April 2011 Parliamentary elections.

Helsinki (19.10.2010 - Juhani Artto) Many union activists raised their eyebrows when the Service Union United PAM recently announced its decision to sponsor the controversial reality TV show Big Brother. Doubts and criticism concerning the move did not come as a surprise to the leaders of the union. But the decision has also been greeted with much applause.

So, why has PAM made this somewhat surprising decision?

According to Timo Piiroinen, the communication director of the union, BB is among the favourite programmes of PAM's rank and file members. Therefore, the union expects to reach, through its advertising on the programme, a considerable number of people working in the service industries where PAM operates.