Archive

Helsinki (24.05.2002 - Juhani Artto) Finland granted 15,000 residence and work permits to foreign workers in 2000. This figure may even double this year, as the construction and engineering industry has difficulties in finding appropriate employees on the domestic labour market, especially in southern Finland. In the summer months commercial farms also employ foreign labour, mainly for strawberry picking.

Most of these migrant workers are Russians and Estonians. Statistics for 2001 indicate that no other countries supplied more than a few hundred workers to the legal Finnish labour market.

Applications for residence and work permits are generally approved. Last year only 4.2 per cent of applications were turned down. The authorities are not allowed to grant residence and work permits when workers are already available on the domestic labour market.

Helsinki (25.04.2002 – Juhani Artto) In just a few years employer attitudes towards workers over 55 years of age have become more positive. This vital change has taken place to a large extent thanks to the National Programme for Ageing Workers 1998-2002. In association with the ministries of labour and education, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health was primarily responsible for implementing the programme, while trade union and employer organisations supported the campaign.

Another factor behind the improved labour market position of older workers has been a general growth in demand for labour.

Helsinki (09.04.2002 – Juhani Artto) Lumberjacks working for the forest industry giant Stora Enso in Lapland now enjoy additional occupational safety.

The improvement is based on the Global Positioning System (GPS). When alone in the forest in an emergency situation, the lumberjack need only push the emergency button of his mobile telephone.

Helsinki (09.04.2002 - Juhani Artto) The Chemical Workers’ Union and the Textile and Garment Workers’ Union are to merge in spring 2004. A letter of intent concerning the merger was signed by the unions in March. This conclusion is based on a careful analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the merger strategy.

The main goal of the merger is to improve the effectiveness of work to safeguard workers’ interests and provide services to members.

The Chemical Workers’ Union currently has 34,600 members, 60 per cent of whom are men, while the Textile and Garment Workers’ Union has 16,300 members, 86 per cent of whom are women.

Helsinki (16.03.2002 – Juhani Artto) The three SAK unions organising engineering, construction and private service workers are demanding legal reforms to prevent pay and social dumping in the enlarged EU. In a letter to the government and Parliament of Finland these organisations stress that Finnish legislation leaves room for abuses when an enterprise based in another EU Member State offers hired labour or subcontracting services.

The unions back their demands with the results of a new study by labour law expert Jari Hellsten published in November 2001. The study reveals that inspection of hired labour coming from abroad and of employees sent by foreign subcontractors is much less rigorous in Finland than in the other EU Member States.

Helsinki (12.03.2002 – Juhani Artto) At the end of last year a historic agreement was signed at KWH Pipe in the western Finnish City of Vaasa. The agreement applies arrangements known as the Danish 3+1 working hour model for the first time in Finland.

In practise the agreement means that at the Thermo-Pipe department each group of three employees will be prepares, where necessary, to share its work with a fourth employee. To demonstrate its commitment to the agreement the enterprise has permanently employed more than ten workers who were previously on temporary employment contracts at the factory. The agreement required the employer to do this only for ten workers.

Helsinki (13.02.2002 - Juhani Artto) There is a common belief that employees tend to extend their weekends by "swinging the lead" on Fridays and Mondays. A new study* has now refuted this view.

The study is based on the sick leave records of more than 27,000 municipal employees over the period from 1993 to 1997. The sample covers a large range of jobs from manual labour to employees in leading positions. The five-year study period includes times of both economic recession and growth.

On average 3.5 per cent of men and 5 percent of women took sick leave during working hours. Older employees had a higher rate of absence due to illness than younger ones. During the economic recession the sick leave rate was lower than in the subsequent period of economic growth.

Helsinki (02.02.2002 - Juhani Artto) Finland’s tax rate is among the highest in the world. It reached a peak of 47.1 per cent in 1996, and is estimated to have been 45.0 per cent last year. According to Ministry of Finance projections, the rate should fall to 43.6 per cent this year.

Jorma Ollila, CEO of Finland’s best-known multinational corporation – the mobile phone giant Nokia – recently offered some critical comments on Finnish taxation, causing nervousness among both policymakers and the general public. Some commentators interpreted Ollila’s words as direct threats that Nokia may leave Finland unless the tax burden is eased.

Helsinki (06.01.2002 - Juhani Artto) The Finnish Parliament is soon to examine a proposal to extend paternity leave by seven weekdays. Paternity leave is currently 18 weekdays. The proposal is part of a reform package negotiated by Finland's labour market organisations. However the organisations rejected demands for longer paternity leave as too expensive.

About 60 per cent of fathers exercise the right to 18 weekdays of paternal leave, while almost all mothers take the 105 weekdays of maternity leave to which they are entitled. The gender gap is wider for parental leave, which is currently 158 weekdays and may be taken either by the father or the mother or shared between them. Only three per cent of men exercise this right. With some 57,000 births in Finland annually, this means that about 1,700 fathers take parental leave.

Helsinki (02.01.2002 - Juhani Artto) Researcher Jorma Antila of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union has analysed the progress of income divisions between capital, wages and salaries (functional income division) in five industries, organised by the union. His statistical material covers the years 1975-2000.

Until the beginning of the exceptionally deep recession of the early 1990s variations in the division between capital, wages and salaries were small i.e. the functional income division remained largely unchanged. Differing developments emerged only after this time.