Archive

Helsinki (23.04.2001 - Juhani Artto) The European trade union movement is generally well disposed towards the European Works Councils established pursuant to the European Union EWC Directive. In future, however, the relation between trade unions and EWCs will not necessarily be a good one, and will demand a well-considered, conscious and active EWC policy from the trade unions.

Problems will arise when EWC agendas gradually expand and begin to include issues such as wages, salaries and working hours that are traditionally dealt with in collective agreements.

"Already now there are discussions going on regarding wages, salaries and working hours in a few EWCs. So far there has been little willingness to encroach on the domain of the trade unions. It is inevitable, however, that these discussions will also lead to other issues. The employers will recognise that they may take advantage of the situation," comments Luc Triangle from the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF).

Helsinki (09.04.2001 - Juhani Artto) In Finland, as elsewhere in the industrialised world, there is much lobbying for greater flexibility in the labour market. Business leaders, right-wing and even mainstream politicians and many economists believe that the low unemployment rate of the USA is largely due to labour market flexibility. They offer the conclusion that the EU Member States must deregulate their labour markets if they want their relatively high unemployment rates to fall to a respectable level.

The demand for greater flexibility has been repeated so often and so vigorously that to many people these conclusions may have begun to sound self-evident. One of the institutions strongly advocating a policy of greater flexibility has been the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development - OECD, especially in its 1994 Jobs Study. The OECD showed more caution in its 1996 and 1997 Employment Outlook studies.

In March 2001 two Finnish economists, Peter Boldt and Pekka Laine, published a new study seeking to assess the credibility of the demand for greater flexibility* as a condition of improved employment. The study includes both theoretical discussion and empirical analysis of the OECD countries.

Helsinki (19.03.2001) Swedish forest industry EWC (European Works Council) representatives find the councils useful. In particular they appreciate the contacts and the overall picture of enterprises obtained by participating in EWC work.

These are some of the findings in a new study made by Professor Jeremy Waddington of the Manchester School of Management. The study, commissioned by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), covers five countries in all.

"The councils function as we expected and handle issues that are essential", observes economist Christer Larsson of the Swedish Paper Workers Union – Pappers.

Helsinki (05.03.2001 - Juhani Artto) The Electrical Workers' Union, with its 30,000 rank and file members, is one of the medium-sized member organisations of the central trade union confederation – SAK. One peculiar feature of the Electrical Workers' Union within SAK is its organising principle: it recruits members both on a trade and an industry basis.

The industry basis has been applied for the 5,000 energy sector and 3,500 information technology members, while the trade basis applies to 10,300 electricians, plumbers and other construction industry specialists and 4,500 members working as specialists in other industries. The rest of the members are students and pensioners, explains union president Lauri Lyly.

In the past the trade-based organising approach of the Electrical Workers Union was not viewed with approval in several other unions, which more or less strictly adhered to industry-based organising. In 1969 the situation was stabilised when the others ended their dispute over the organising principles of the electrical unions.

Helsinki (19.02.2001) Nine Finnish trade unions presented 7.2.2001 to court a claim for indemnification of more than EUR 8 million for the closing down of Fujitsu Siemens Computers computer factory and product development in Espoo, Finland.

The plaint was presented to court for breaking the Finnish Act on cooperation in undertakings. The trade unions are pleading this case for approximately 220 dismissed blue and white collar workers.

It is claimed that the undertaking should pay to all employees involved a 20 months' salary as indemnification. It is the highest possible indemnification determined by the Finnish Act on cooperation in undertakings. The individual claims vary from approx. EUR 33 000 to more than EUR 100 000.

Helsinki (15.02.2001 - Juhani Artto) Every year some one to two hundred people in Finland die of asbestosis-related illnesses. This means that asbestosis has caused the all-time worst working environment catastrophe, characterised by immense human suffering and major expenses for society, comments SAK lawyer Arjo Suonperä. Asbestosis kills annually roughly the same number of people each year in Finland as drug abuse.

According to Suonperä, medical science recognised the dangers of asbestosis as long ago as the first half of the 20^th century. There was plenty of scientific information on the matter in the early 1950s and the subject was taught to medical students at that time in the same manner as at present.

Helsinki (29.01.2001 - Juhani Artto) Several recent studies, opinion polls and updated statistics indicate that Finnish working life is changing in a paradoxical manner.

The good news is that employment has risen and there has been a slow but steady decline in the number of those out of work. At the end of December, according to Statistics Finland, there were 33,000 more people at work than a year earlier. The employment rate is edging closer to the 70 per cent target of Prime Minister Lipponen's cabinet and now stands at 66.4 per cent, compared with 65.6 per cent one year ago. Over the same period the number of those unemployed dropped from 229,000 to 210,000*.

Helsinki (19.01.2001 - Juhani Artto) In a recent statement the three Finnish central trade union organisations - SAK, STTK and Akava - express their support for European Union enlargement to the East, but their basically positive stance includes several important conditional remarks.

While the enhancement of EU decision-making structures has improved conditions for enlargement, this work was not completed at the ministerial meeting in Nice. The charter that was approved will play an important role in defining European values and principles and the three trade union organisations insist that it must be made legally binding.

Helsinki (10.01.2001 - Juhani Artto) The largest central trade union organisation in Finland SAK, represents the interests of almost 1.1 million members of its 26 affiliated unions. One of the burning questions for the future of SAK is how the ageing of this rank and file membership will affect the organisation's position. Will it be able in the future to maintain a high organising rate in its various fields of operation?

A survey published in December indicates that more than half of the members of SAK affiliated unions in 1998 are due to retire from working life before 2010. An even quicker rate of retirement applies to their 30,000 to 40,000 shop stewards. Up to 25,000 of these key activists will retire before 2010. This means that local union branches will have to recruit and train some 2,500 new shop stewards every year. This is a huge challenge, since the ever-increasing demands involved in serving as a shop steward discourage interested activists from standing for the post.

More than half of the approximately 3,000 full-time trade union officials in the SAK sector will retire before 2008.

Helsinki (01.12.2000 - Juhani Artto) The trade union movement is demanding reduced working hours in the newly opened round of collective bargaining. Aside from this, the road transport sector has special problems in working hours. All recent studies demonstrate that the working hours of professional drivers in Finland, as in other countries, far exceed healthy limits. This poses risks both to the drivers' health and to road safety.

According to a 1999 inquiry by the Finnish Transport Workers Union – AKT, almost 20 per cent of lorry drivers regularly work more than 60 hours per week, and a few even exceed 80 hours.

A thesis by Helinä Häkkänen, published last Spring, provides strong evidence of the risks caused by long working hours. About 20 per cent of professional drivers admit that they "nod off" every now and then when driving. Over a period of three months half had experienced "near-accident" situations.