Archive

Helsinki (23.04.2004 - Juhani Artto) The total size of the workforce (both employed and unemployed) was 2.6 million in 2002, and included three out of four people aged between 15 and 64 years.

The large post-war age band (the "baby boom" generation) is now approaching 60 years of age, and more than a quarter of the employed workforce is at least 50 years old, whereas in 1994 the share of over-50s was only 19 per cent. During the past few years the average retirement age of about 59 years has remained unchanged.

At the end of 2002 there were 2.4 million employed and 240,000 unemployed persons. In 2002 about 87 per cent of persons in gainful occupations were wage and salary earners.

Helsinki (08.04.2004 – Juhani Artto) Estonia’s accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004 will have no significant impact on employment in the Finnish graphical industry. Thus conclude the three experts interviewed at the end of January by Kirjatyö, the magazine of the Media Union, which represents wage and salary earners in the graphical industry.

The substantial difference in average pay between Finland and Estonia will not mean the export of jobs and work in the graphical industry to the southern side of the Gulf of Finland. “Estonia still lacks the production capacity necessary to enable production of more demanding works,” argues Esa Honka, CEO of Hansaprint, one of the leading graphic media service providers in the Baltic Sea Region.

Helsinki (01.04.2004 – Juhani Artto) Since January 1998 Trade Union News from Finland has been financed by several Finnish trade union organisations. Originally there were twelve such organisations, but a few years ago the merger of two unions reduced the number of sponsors to eleven.

Today the sponsoring group again changes slightly as the publication gains one new sponsor and loses another. The new sponsor is the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland – SASK. This organisation is well known in the trade union movements of many developing countries in which SASK has, since the late 1980s, actively supported work to strengthen trade unionism.

Basic details of SASK and its projects in the countries of the South are available in English on the organisation's website.

The loss of a sponsor is once again due to a union merger. The Textile and Garment Workers’ Union will merge next month with another sponsor, the Chemical Workers’ Union.

These changes will not influence the editorial policy of Trade Union News from Finland.

Kiteet (16.03.2004 - Juhani Artto) The Swedish clothing chain H&M, with retail outlets in 18 countries, secures a significant proportion of its products from manufacturers in China. The exact number of orders is a business secret.

With respect to the national distribution of origin of goods, however, Kristina Stenvinkel, the Head of Public Relations at H&M, reveals that half of all H&M products are manufactured in Europe, and the other half come from Asia: “One of our major producers in Asia, for example, is China, and in Europe, Turkey.”

H&M has no production plants of its own. Its range is manufactured by about 800 suppliers. The agreements concluded with these suppliers reserved for H&M the right to make spot checks at supplier manufacturing plants. The purpose of these checks is to verify that the subcontractors are complying with the agreement clauses on such matters as working conditions.

Helsinki (01.03.2004 - Juhani Artto) Privatisation of public services has been a topic of political dispute in Finland for several years. As its Western neighbour Sweden has advanced further in the privatisation process, it is natural that the parties to the Finnish privatisation struggle refer to Swedish experiences as ammunition for and against various models of service provision.

In January 2004 the Finnish Trade Union for the Municipal Sector – KTV published a report* on Swedish experiences in privatising public services. The idea of the report was to list the major findings of several studies conducted in Sweden on the issue. The idea was also to avoid an ideologically coloured interpretation of the wide range of privatization outcomes.

"As the privatisation of services and other sectors remains an important agenda issue for trade unions around the world, we shall participate in the global debate on the pros and cons of privatisation by publishing a summary of the KTV report. This will be of particular interest to union activists in many other European countries, where similar questions are part of daily agenda," believes Jarkko Eloranta, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at KTV.

Mexico (25.02.2004 - IMF NewsBriefs 04/2004) The International Metalworkers' Federation, together with its Finnish affiliates Metalliliitto and Toimihenkilöunioni, has launched a pilot organising project in Mexico. The project is aimed at organising workers in a limited number of plants and companies, as well as identifying suitable partners for a future comprehensive organising project.

"Fundamental labour and trade union rights are notoriously violated in Mexico. This is not only true in the maquila export processing zones, but also in a majority of other companies. This extremely important - and difficult - project is an attempt to partly remedy this situation," explains the IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi.

The trade union situation in Mexico is complicated and hampered by internal rivalries and by the existence of company-controlled unions negotiating below the statutory wage levels with management. A labour law reform, to be put in place in 2005, at the earliest, further complicates the Mexican picture.

Ahjo (29.01.2004 – Jorma Antila*) Over the last few months there has been a lively debate in Finland about the export of industrial production capacity. I have also been asked how many engineering sector enterprises and jobs will be moving abroad.

It is impossible to answer this question with any precision, as there is no method that would enable such a calculation to be made. Decisions are always taken in individual cases, and their implementation follows no given scheme. In the absence of a direct response, however, it is possible to list certain factors that either increase or decrease the probability that a business will remove its production from Finland.

For brevity, I shall present two extreme examples: I give a general outline of one company that is highly likely to export its production capacity, and of another that is highly unlikely to do this.

Helsinki (Press release - 29.01.2004) The public sector unions belonging to the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) plan to join forces to form a completely new organisation that would represent the whole public sector.

The Trade Union for the Municipal Sector (KTV), The Finnish National Union of State Employees and Special Services (VAL), the Joint Organisation of State Employees (VTY), the Finnish Customs Officers' Union, the Finnish Prison Officers' Union and the Coastguard Union have stated their objective to form a union that will strengthen their negotiating position, also in sectors and enterprises that operate on commercial principles but produce publicly funded services.

The unions involved in the process represent almost a quarter of a million wage earners. The project was started in spring 2003 and the work of charting the possibilities of merging has proceeded according to a tight schedule.

Ahjo (16.01.2004 - Mika Peltonen/UP) Continuous sleep deficit causes a serious safety risk at the workplace, says sleep researcher and neurologist Markku Partinen. "A tired employee more readily takes risks than a well rested employee, as tiredness weakens attentiveness and observation." For example, a tired worker will not necessarily notice that an industrial control room meter is over the red line and the process is running foul.

"In the long run a tired employee is no good to the employer, either. Even where loss of life and serious catastrophes are avoided, the financial losses may be really serious." According to Partinen, a 16-hour period without sleep already poses a significant risk, and is comparable to a blood alcohol content of 0.5 per mille.

Staying awake for 24 hours is comparable to a blood alcohol content of 1.0 per mille, and 36 hours without sleep corresponds to drunkenness of 1.5 per mille.

Helsinki (02.01.2004 - Juhani Artto) A total of 4,807 cases of occupational illness were reported in Finland in 2002. This was two per cent lower than in the previous year. The annual incidence in 2002 was 20 cases per 10,000 employed workers (23 in 1999). Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of registered cases involved male sufferers.

The most common occupational illnesses were repetitive strain injuries (1,360 cases), with a nine per cent decrease from 2001. The highest incidence occurred in food processing work.

Occupational skin diseases totalled 965 cases, down six per cent from 2001. Also here the incidence was highest in food processing work.