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Helsinki (03.10.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) The Union of Professional Engineers in Finland IL has added its weight to the campaign to defend employees against the planned legislation to ease individual dismissals.

The Union announced an overtime and shift swap ban and a ban on travel connected to work outside normal working hours from the midnight of Friday 5 October. The bans cover the technology and chemical industry and will remain in place until further notice.

Samu Salo, President of the Union says that IL is not joining the one day strike on 3 October but will decide possible next steps together with other unions.

"The Union can not just stand by and watch from the sidelines when the Government makes employment security weaker by unilateral dictate", Salo says in explaining the 70,000 member strong Union decision to take action.

Helsinki (01.10.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) Five unions are to stage a one day strike on Wednesday 3 October.

The one day strike, which is in effect a political strike, has been called in order to send a clear message to the Government: that their plans to make individual dismissal easier in companies employing less than 20 people are not acceptable.

"We would not have gone so far, but the stubbornness of the PM Juha Sipilä right-wing Government has left us with no choice", says Riku Aalto, President of the Industrial Union. PM Sipilä Government has more or less scrapped the tradition of trilateral preparations on labour issues.

Helsinki (28.09.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) The neoliberal think tank Libera has filed a complaint against State of Finland to the EU Commission concerning the generally binding collective agreements in Finland. Libera claims these are an obstacle to a free market and competition.

The complaint says that the collective agreements of a generally binding nature do exceptional harm to the Finnish economy, are an obstacle to new jobs and weaken the possibilities of small companies to enter the market.

It also says that generally binding collective agreements can be used as a way of restricting competition.

Helsinki (19.09.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) A number of trade unions have already instated an overtime ban as of Monday 17 September. The unions are demanding that the Government withdraw their planned amendment to the Employment Contracts Act which is aimed at easing the criteria for individual dismissal in businesses employing 20 people or less.

The 220,000 member strong Industrial Union has now called a ban on overtime in almost all of its sectors. The ban will remain in place for the time being, the Union says and adds that it is the first step in what promises to be a protracted campaign of progressive industrial action.

"The Industrial Union will not accept a weakening of the protection against dismissal for anyone. We demand that the government drop the bill immediately, as it would only cause arbitrary layoffs", the Union announce.

Helsinki (04.09.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) A number of trade unions are demanding that the Finnish Government withdraw the planned amendment to the Employment Contracts Act. It is aimed at easing the criteria for individual dismissal in businesses employing 20 people or less.

The Board of SAK, the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions concluded at its meeting on Monday 3. September that all SAK unions are prepared to take measures against the planned amendment. The unions will decide individually what their measures will be.

However, the protests are not limited only to SAK member unions. Some unions from the other two Finnish trade union confederations, STTK and Akava, have already announced they are ready to act, too.

JHL (3.9.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) JHL, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors is considering measures should the Finnish Government go ahead with preparations for new legislation to make individual dismissals easier.

In practise this could mean taking industrial action such as a ban on overtime or limited and targeted strikes.

The Union has not specified what types of action would be taken, but mentions that these will be extended gradually. The details and schedule will be announced later, said the Union Executive Committee in its unanimous decision.

Helsinki (28.08.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) The players in the Finnish men's national football team are prepared to cut their pay by 25 - 33 per cent in order to support the women's national team.

Following recent negotiations the new agreement on pay will be signed soon, confirms the Secretary general of the Football Association of Finland, Marco Casagrande to Yle news.

According to the agreement success in the international games like the Union of European Football Associations UEFA Nations League this autumn would bring money for women, too.

"If men are getting money prizes from Uefa, they are ready to give a part of this to women, too", Casagrande says. In effect, this means women would then receive some 10 - 20 per cent of the Uefa prize money available.

Helsinki (17.08.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) The plan for new legislation to ease individual dismissal is hitting sectors where the workforce is primarily made up of women hardest, say trade union leaders Ann Selin and Päivi Niemi-Laine.

Selin is the President of the Service Union United PAM and Päivi Niemi-Laine is the President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors.

The Government proposal is aimed at easing the criteria for individual dismissal in businesses employing 20 people or less.

The proposed legislation will target in particular employees in the service and public services sectors, as these do not often have regulations on dismissals in their collective agreements. Almost 70 per cent of those working in these sectors are women.

Helsinki (07.08.2017 - Heikki Jokinen) Vuokko Piekkala took up her new post as National Conciliator on the Monday 6 August. Immediately after the Finnish Government appointed her she alarmed the trade unions by her comments to the media back in July.

Piekkala is a lawyer and had earlier worked as the labour market director at the Commission for Church Employers. This is one of Finland's central labour market organisations and represents the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in labour market issues.

The National Conciliator is appointed for a four-year-period. For alternate terms the candidate comes from either the trade union side or employers' side.

The position fell vacant as the previous National Conciliator, former trade union lawyer Minna Helle resigned before the end of her term. At the beginning of June Helle changed her career direction when offered a job as the labour market director at the employers Technology Industries of Finland.

JHL (26.07.2018 - Heikki Jokinen) The new Early Childhood Education and Care Act passed by the Finnish Parliament at the end of June has failed before it got started, says Päivi Niemi-Laine, President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors.

The Next Government must redraft the law and modify it for the benefit of the child, JHL President insists.

The new law claims to focus on the benefit of the child by raising the educational level of the staff and clarifying job titles. Niemi-Laine says that the law reform did not make any relevant change to improve the quality of early childhood education and care or benefit the child in any way.

– The real problems such as groups which are too big or the ratio of employees to children can continue by the decision of this Government, she says.