JHL’s Union Council elections 2027
Trade Union JHL’s next Union Council elections will be in 2027. You can run for a seat on the Union Council that decides where the union should focus in its operations and how it spends money.
On the Union Council you will make decisions on the future course of Trade Union JHL and influence the world of work in Finland.
The Union Council is the highest decision-making body of Trade Union JHL. You, too, can become a Union Council member if you stand for election! Nomination of candidates begins on 12 October 2026.
Become a candidate now – Time remaining for registration by 11 December
Nomination of candidates for JHL elections elections has ended – we thank all candidates
- 12 October: Nomination of candidates begins at 00:01.
- 31 October: The last day to join the union in order to be eligible to vote in the elections.
- 30 November–4 December: The register of eligible voters is available for viewing in the regional offices, period for submitting comments.
- 11 December: Nomination of candidates ends. Candidate nomination forms must be saved in the elections system by 24:00.
- 18 January: The Central Elections Committee confirms the nominated candidates.
- 25 January: The last day of posting the elections material to eligible voters.
- 8 February: Voting begins at 00:00.
- 10 February: The last day to order the elections material for those eligible voters who did not receive the material.
- 1 March: Voting ends at 12:00 noon.
- 2 March: The Central Elections Committee announces the election result.
- 15 March: Any appeals against the election result must be at JHL’s Central Office by this date.
- 9 April: The Central Elections Committee confirms the election result and the elected Union Council members and alternate members of each electoral district.
- 7–9 June: The new Union Council convenes to its constitutive meeting.
Privacy statement for JHL’s Union Council elections
What is JHL’s Union Council?
The Union Council decides for example the amount of the membership fee and approves the trade union’s budget and operational plan.
JHL’s Union Council assembles twice a year to decide about essential matters of the union, including the strategic plan, budget, and approval of the financial statements. When needed, the Union Council will also assemble in extraordinary meetings.
See here for more information on the role of JHL’s Union Council.
The Union Council has 120 elected members. Its term of office is five years.
Seats per electoral district in the next Union Council term
- Electoral district of Southeast Finland: 11
- Electoral district of Southern Finland: 38
- Electoral district of Inner Finland: 18
- Electoral district of Lapland: 5
- Electoral district of Eastern Finland: 10
- Electoral district of Oulu: 10
- Electoral district of Ostrobothnia: 9
- Electoral district of Southwest Finland: 19
Seats per agreement sector in the next Union Council term
- Municipal and welfare sector: 78
- State and church: 5
- Private: 37
Who can become a candidate and how?
Those eligible for candidacy need to be members of the union’s member branch. They must have become branch members at the latest on 30 September 2026 and must not have neglected to pay their membership fees for longer than three (3) months. A candidate is running for election in the electoral district where they have the right to vote based on their situation on 31 October 2026.
Retired members, however, are not eligible for candidacy.
All candidates need to enter their information into the union’s candidate system. Do this even if your were selected as a candidate by your union branch.
Download detailed instructions for using the candidate registration system from JHL’s Material Bank.
Frequently asked questions about becoming a candidate
Every branch member who is eligible for candidacy can register themself as a candidate in the electronic elections app. Those who are nominated as candidates or register themselves as candidates must give their consent for candidacy in the elections system. The candidates provide in the system their personal information and indicate if they want to join an electoral alliance.
The registration system opens when registration begins on Monday 12 October 2026 at 00:01. Registration time ends on Friday 11 December 2026 by midnight.
Member branches of the union nominate their candidate for the Union Council elections. Nomination of candidates is done in branch member meetings that must be convened in accordance with the rules and with the decisions made in the branch’s autumn meeting.
The meeting invitation must inform that candidates for the 2027 Union Council elections are going to be nominated in the meeting. After candidates have been nominated in a member meeting, they still need to register themselves as candidates in the electronic elections app.
You can add your photo to your candidate information after you have registered as a candidate in JHL’s elections app.
You have two options for adding your photo:
- Go to a photography studio and have your picture taken. You trade union JHL will pay the cost. See here for a list of participating photography studios.
- Use a recent portrait photo that you already have.
Check the technical requirements for the photo and content permitted in the photo from the instructions for candidates.
When you have submitted your candidate infomation, you can also use this link to add your photo.
If you cannot take your photo or visit a photography studio, contact your region’s Head of Region.
We have created two campaign ad templates (in Finnish and Swedish) that you can customise as you want!
The campaign ad templates are available on our Material Bank in folders JHL-edustajistovaalit 2027 and JHL-representantskapsvalet 2027.
- Create a customised social media picture with 1080x1350px resolution. You can find the template with file name Vaaliehdokkaan somekuva 1080x1350px / Val elections 2027 1080x1350px SWE.
- Create a customised printable poster in A4 landscape format. You can find the template with file name Vaaliehdokkaan flaijeri tulostettava / Kandidatflygblad för utskrifts.
Get posters, QR codes and other materials for your elections campaign on Trade Union JHL’s Material Bank
Visit our material bank to get QR codes that link to our elections page, badge sheets for candidates and voters, and printable elections posters in three sizes.
You can also download a Facebook cover photo and use it for your Facebook profile. The same cover photo can be used during the candidate nomination period and voting period.
Note that the candidate nomination stage and the voting stage each have different posters and other materials.
Using the elections logo, union branch logos and the JHL logo in campaigning
How to use JHL’s Union Council elections logo
JHL’s Union Council elections logo can be used in all activities and advertising connected to the Union Council elections.
All JHL’s Union Council elections materials are available on our Material Bank.
JHL’s logo can be used in the following contexts:
- Union branches’ compilation advertisements that feature all candidates of that JHL branch. The branches can use their JHL branch logo in this context. Using a letter-format identifier of a party, electoral alliance or union group after a candidate’s name is permitted in this context.
- Regional offices’ elections events that are open for all union members who stand for election.
- Regional offices’ compilation advertisements that feature all JHL’s candidates in that region. Using a letter-format identifier of a party, electoral alliance or union group after a candidate’s name is permitted in this context. Using the logos and symbols of parties, electoral alliances or union groups in this context is prohibited.
Use of JHL’s logo is prohibited:
- In campaign advertising of an individual candidate
- In joint advertisements that show a logo of parties, electoral alliances or union groups.
The union publishes on JHL’s channels general articles about the elections, materials, and links to a list of all candidates and a candidate selection engine.
To ensure impartiality and equal treatment, advertisements of individual candidates, groups, branches or any other groupings are not published on JHL’s channels in JHL’s elections.
This restriction applies to all JHL’s channels, including blogs.
Any advertisements or advertisement-like comments on social media will be removed. Articles are subject to pre-election editorial ban on candidate coverage.
Join JHL!
JHL is the most diverse trade union in Finland. Our members work in about one thousand different occupations in welfare and public services. You can be for example a social welfare or health care professional, a youth worker or an early childhood education and care professional, a cleaner, a cook, a secretary, a security guard or a train conductor, and we are your trade union!
