Cross section of SAK activity during last five years

Cross section of SAK activity during last five years

Decisions are now being taken on how the SAK should formulate its programme and conduct its activities for the next five years. What happened during the past 5-year period? SAK and its environment have changed in many respects since 2006, when the previous Congress was held.

The enclosed video presents a cross section on the past five years, from SAK's perspective. This video was made and submitted by SAK and was aired before Congress participants on Tuesday morning, June 7.

Plenty of things happened in five years

• The collective bargaining system has changed. Comprehensive income policy agreements have been replaced by continuous bargaining at union and local levels.

• The Finnish and the entire global economy have been thrown into turmoil because of the financial crisis and the widespread economic recession that followed.

• The threat of a labour shortage has transmuted - via a wave of temporary lay-offs - into a growth in long-term unemployment.

• EU strives to extend its role and reach to national working life issues.

SAK have had to react to the changing world on all levels. SAK has participated rigorously in efforts to boost economic recovery. Sometimes it has been necessary to express the views of wage and salary earners in the streets or by strikes. In most cases disagreements and disputes have been resolved by negotiations. Even the government proposal to raise the retirement age, was rejected by negotiations, and the debate on how to extend working careers could be focused on the need to improve working life.

Photos from SAK's Congress (Flickr)