Perpetual insecurity concerns SAK rank and file

News from the 17th SAK Congress

Finnish employees are worried about how to cope with the instability of production and working life. Speakers on the first day of the SAK Congress in Helsinki expressed their strong concerns regarding the increased prevalence of casual and irregular employment, the impact of neoliberal trends on working life, and the transfer of jobs to cheap labour economies.

Employees in Finland have serious misgivings about the drift of work in Finnish enterprises initially to China and more recently also to India. At the same time employment agencies have set up shop in Finland with little or no regard for the rules of Finnish working life or for trade union rights.

The status of immigrants in the Finnish job market was also a topic of concern for congress delegates. &#;8220Immigrants must enjoy equitable treatment in working life. The trade union movement offers immigrants their most important source of support and security, so migrant workers should organise in their own unions,” was a frequent refrain of congress participants.

Some speakers stressed the importance of closer co-operation within the international trade union movement. “A global economy requires an effective global trade union movement. It is not enough merely to lobby the institutions of the European Union.”

Many international guests

The SAK Congress in Helsinki has attracted an unusually large number of guests from abroad. About sixty international observers are attending the event.

“The large number of invited guests this year reflects the fact that the Finnish system has attracted a great deal of genuine interest throughout the world. Our guests are keen to discover the secret of Finland’s success in international comparisons of competitiveness, and to see how this country’s strong trade union movement asserts itself,” explains Marjaana Valkonen, Director of International Affairs at SAK.

The trade unions of various countries are also interested in the upcoming Finnish Presidency of the European Union, which is due to begin on 1 July.

International guests have arrived from Finland’s neighbouring countries in Northern Europe, other Member States of the European Union, the USA and some developing countries where SAK is assisting in certain co-operation development projects.

On Tuesday morning the congress is due to hear from Guy Ryder, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.