The forest industry giant UPM announced on 8 February that it will no longer participate in negotiations on collective agreements for salaried employees at any level in Finland. This unilateral refusal to engage in collective bargaining is not just based on a whim.
The Finnish multinational forest company UPM announced on 8 February that it will no longer engage in any kind of collective agreements at any level for salaried employees in Finland. All terms of work will be negotiated on an individual basis.
The findings of the Kunta10 survey conducted in autumn 2020 demonstrate that work communities are regarded to be well functioning and municipal employers worthy of recommendation despite the coronavirus. Because of the coronavirus, people in professions where remote work was possible started to work from home. These people had the feeling of having better control over their work.
Two Finnish trade union confederations SAK and STTK view the EU Commission proposal for a minimum wage positively and support its objectives. The federations issued a joint statement on this in December.
The eased rules on layoffs and other employment legislation, used in the private sector because of the corona crisis, have no longer been in effect after the turn of the year. Likewise, several temporary changes made to unemployment security ceased to be in effect at the end of 2020.
Helsinki (17.12.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish Government proposes to amend the law to oblige employers to pay compensation to employees for all non-compete clauses in their employment contracts. Trade unions have long drawn attention to the fact that the existing law is unfair and has led to a fast and wildly growing number of such clauses.
On the Facebook page, JHL reports on its activities, advocacy and events in English. The main target groups of the public page are members with an immigrant background, professionals interested in membership, JHL members working around immigration themes and other networks interested in JHL’s English-language communications.
Christmas and New Year affect opening hours at the JHL Central Office, the Regional Offices and phone services.
Helsinki (01.12.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) The Finnish forest industry decision to unilaterally terminate national level collective bargaining is clearly a risk for companies in that sector and a leap into unchartered waters, says Jarkko Eloranta, President of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK.
15.11.2020 - (Heikki Jokinen) On Friday 13 November, the trade union Pro representative body elected Jorma Malinen to remain in charge of the union for the period 2020 - 2024. He has been Pro President since 2014.
The City of Oulu has distributed gift vouchers as a reward to those employees who did not participate in the strikes in September and October. JHL, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors were incensed at this move by the City.
Food couriers are employees, not entrepreneurs, says Finland's Labour Council. It released two statements on the issue in October. Service Union United PAM welcomes the statements.
Being a member of a trade union guarantees you better unemployment benefits. This was the main reason Kaveri joined the trade union. "For many years I was happy to just remain a silent member of the union. Then I learned about all the other things the union does, like negotiating the collective agreement. Now I am a union activist and shop steward,” Kaveri says.
Carlos Carrara, 39, has lived in Finland for six years. He has a career in caregiving and is popular with his clients. Carlos is today a card-carrying union activist. He is working in a project to bring more caregivers to the union. Carlos informs caregivers about their rights such as paid vacations and bonus holiday pay.
Chiara Costa-Virtanen, 32, lives in Helsinki, Finland, and works in the public sector. She is also the proud mother of a lovely Finnish-Italian child.
Helsinki (14.10.2020 - Heikki Jokinen) The Union of Insurance Employees in Finland VvL and Trade Union pro are set to merge from the beginning of 2021. The VvL Council agreed to the amalgamation during a meeting in October. The Board of Pro has already approved the decision and it will be endorsed at the Pro representative body meeting in November.
The forest industry announced on 1 October that it will no longer participate in collective bargaining. The decision was prepared secretly and left both unions and the nation flabbergasted. The existing seven collective agreements are valid until they expire either at the beginning or during the year 2022. After that, every company or factory must make their own agreements.
The new collective agreement for employees and supervisors within tourism, restaurant and leisure services was born under very special circumstances. The agreement was approved on 1 October and covers some 75 000 employees.
A crucial discussion on the role of the National Conciliator has been ongoing for some time in Finland. Now, the think tank Akava Works has published a comparative report on the machinery for conciliating collective bargaining in several countries.
The Finnish system for temporary lay-offs turned out to be flexible in comparison to many other European systems during the coronavirus pandemic. But financially it is less generous than many others.
Three big unemployment funds have undertaken preparations to merge. If things go as planned, the new fund should start operating by the beginning of 2022.
JHL has renewed its incentive system for member recruitment. Starting on the 1st of September, the JHL Awards will be more accessible to all members of the union.
Some 250 people sought advice from the Summer Job Helpline, run by the three Finnish trade union federations Akava, SAK and STTK.
The Delegate Council meeting of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK unanimously elected Jarkko Eloranta to continue as the President of the federation on August 25.