Arkisto

Trade Union News from Finland archive from 15 August 1997 to 28 May 2013 at Juhani Artto's archive

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 (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.

Helsinki (26.04.2012- Heikki Jokinen) The tax base was narrowed in 2010 by as much as 675 million euro due to the shortcomings in asserting control over the foreign labour force in Finland. In real terms this meant an actual loss in tax revenues of approximately 100 - 150 million euro.

The figures are from a recent report on the efficacy of regulations concerning foreign labour in Finland. It is written by a senior researcher into the black economy, Mr. Markku Hirvonen, and commissioned by the National Police Board.

Helsinki (11.04.2012 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish pension insurance company Ilmarinen says it may withdraw it's investments from the Finnish auto parts company PKC due to the restrictions being placed on trade union work in their Mexican factory.

PKC's Mexican subsidiary Arneses y Accesorios de Mexico signed a collective agreement with a union the workers do not want to represent them. Three union presidents in Finland, Riku Aalto (Finnish Metalworkers' Union), Antti Rinne (Pro) and Pertti Porokari (Union of Professional Engineers), sent a letter to PKC’s CEO to protest vigorously at the decision that had been taken by management.

  1. SAK: A committee needed to study men's situation
  2. Major Finnish-based companies have expanded their workforces abroad, while reducing them in Finland
  3. SAK dissatisfied with the proposals for Finland's investment strategy
  4. Individual flexibility in working conditions act as an incentive to continue working longer
  5. SASK has multiplied its reach during its first 25 years of action
  6. Presidential elections in Finland: Campaign paraphernalia are mostly made in Far East
  7. Disruption to electricity supply underline vital need for skilled electricians and lumberjacks
  8. The truth about the election winners - the True Finns
  9. Most MPs of the new Parliament are rank and file members of trade unions 
  10. A third of public sector organisations apply ethical criteria in their work-clothes purchases