Archive

Helsinki (09.10.2001 - Heikki Piskonen) Estonia declared national independence ten years ago, after this was made possible by the break-up of the Soviet Union. The country then effected a complete U-turn in its economy. The old planned economy was directly replaced with an ultraliberal market system.

The role of society in the economy is restricted and State property has been privatised despite occasional tragicomic features. This sharp-edged market economy ideology has also resulted in a shortage of tax revenues necessary to finance social services. Part of wages and salaries are paid in secret. Any regular visitor to Tallinn, the nation's capital, can testify to growing visible social inequality. Wealth from successful businesses has not trickled down to the poor.

Helsinki (01.10.2001 - Juhani Artto) Finland’s new Employment Contracts Act (no. 55 of 2001) that took effect at the beginning of June reinforces the generally binding character of collective agreements in Finland. The trade union movement achieved this advance by intensive lobbying of conservative policymakers who had not appreciated the benefits of the generally binding system for society at large.

Another objective likely to be gained by the trade union movement will be approval of its proposal for transition periods governing labour mobility in the enlarged European Union. An active lobbying programme has greatly improved understanding among policymakers of the need for such transition periods. A final decision on the issue has yet to be made in the EU.

Helsinki (21.09.2001 - Juhani Artto) One of the outcomes of a recent SAK survey was that six per cent of SAK rank and file union members have been involved in moonlighting. For an organisation representing more than a million workers this means about 60,000 people. However there was no public outcry in Finland when this figure came to light.

Everybody in Finland knows that working life is not free of shadowy arrangements whereby employer and workers evade taxes, social security contributions and other work-related expenses. Control mechanisms, however, are so strict that only a small part of this grey economy is in any way systematic.

Helsinki (14.09.2001 - Juhani Artto) A total of 4,993 cases of occupational illness were reported in Finland in 2000. This was four per cent lower than in the previous year. The annual incidence rate in 2000 was 21 cases per 10,000 employed workers (23 in 1999). Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of the registered cases were involved male sufferers.

The average age of the male victims was 47 years, while among women this was 42 years. This difference is mainly due to the higher male rate of asbestosis and noise-induced hearing loss, both of which are concentrated in older age bands.

The most common occupational illnesses were repetitive strain injuries (1,489 cases), with a ten per cent increase observed from 1999.

Helsinki (02.09.2001 - Juhani Artto) The pay gap between men and women in Finland has persistently remained at an average of 25 to 30 per cent despite a huge number of studies, programmes, initiatives, seminars, task forces, negotiations and an ongoing struggle to reduce and abolish this differential.

How can this failure be explained?

Preliminary results of a new study, made by Dr Juhana Vartiainen, an economist from the Labour Institute for Economic Research, reveals that about half of the gap is due to gender discrimination. The remainder consists of differences in background between men and women in such aspects as education and work experience.

Helsinki (20.08.2001 - Juhani Artto) Finland’s labour market organisations reached a historic agreement* in April on the rules that foreign businesses and employees must observe when operating and working in Finland.

The seven organisations state their position in the following terms: "Employees originating in the [European Union] applicant countries are also subject to Finnish legislation, and the minimum conditions for their employment are to be determined on the basis of Finnish labour legislation and collective agreements. The Partners stress that these regulations must be observed in all workplaces and in all employment contracts, regardless of the form in which the work is performed. Thus, the enlargement of the European Union and the increasingly free movement of labour must not lead to the importing of cheap labour from other countries into the Finnish labour market."

Helsinki (17.07.2001 - Juhani Artto) Wage and salary earners would do badly if there were no trade union movement. This is the view of 81 per cent of people in Finland according to a recent opinion survey. Even a majority of those in positions of influence (64 per cent) and of entrepreneurs (60 per cent) share this view.

Furthermore when asked whether the trade union movement is an unnecessary obstacle to social development 81 per cent of respondents disagree. This includes two-thirds of farmers and of members of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises representing small and medium-sized businesses.

Helsinki (20.06.2001 - Juhani Artto) "About 6,000 cases of occupational illness are discovered in Finland every year, but there is very little public debate on the problem", professor Jyrki Liesivuori stated last year at a seminar organised by the Wood and Allied Workers' Union. There has been no change in the situation since that time.

One example of an underestimated risk mentioned by prof. Liesivuori was wood dust, which in Finland mainly originates from birch, pine and spruce processing. The wood dust problem focuses on the furniture, board and joinery industries, and at sawmills employing almost 30,000. According to the Centre for Occupational Safety, roughly half of these workers are exposed to wood dust.

Helsinki (01.06.2001 - Juhani Artto) Until Nokia led an electronics industry boom a few years ago the old saying "Finland lives on its forests", was still commonplace in Finland. Over the decades since the early 19th century, timber, pulp, paper and other wood-based products always had the lion's share of Finnish exports, which in 1999 reached almost EUR 40 billion.

In 1999 forest-based products still accounted for 28.7 per cent of exports, narrowly exceeding the shares of the electronics industry (27.9 per cent) and the engineering sector (25.3 per cent).

At the very beginning of the wood processing production line are the lumberjacks. In the peak winter months of the late 1940s up to 300,000 men worked in the forests felling and transporting trees. In those years the annual average number of forest workers was 140,000.

Helsinki (07.05.2001 - Daryl Taylor) The Finnish Trade Union for the Municipal Sector - KTV has recently published a book sketching the new factors which the trade unions must grasp when fashioning their strategy in an era of globalisation. This 72-page publication provides a brief review of the key issues, providing basic facts and discussing their significance.

In his introduction to the book KTV President Jouni Riskilä states that its purpose is to encourage dialogue on globalisation and its consequences. He is fairly optimistic about the prospects for ordinary people to influence matters:

"I claim that the prospects for ordinary people to influence matters have even increased. This understanding is mainly based on the fact that there is nowadays a quite unprecedented amount of information on global affairs within reach of most people. The more easily large numbers of people may draw parallel conclusions from this and act together accordingly, the more this empowers them to influence the direction of progress.