17th SAK Congress begins in Helsinki

The 17th Congress of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions &#;8211 SAK began today at Helsinki Fair Centre. 275 delegates from various parts of Finland are attending the congress as representatives of the organisation’s 21 affiliated trade unions. The youngest congress delegate is just 19 years old and the oldest is 64.

40 per cent of the delegates are women. The highest rates of female representation are in the delegations from Service Union United – PAM (74 per cent) and the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors – JHL (67 per cent). These two unions also have the largest delegations: JHL has 52 representatives at the congress and PAM has 46. The third largest delegation is from the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union, with 38 representatives.

Just over one third (36 per cent) of the representatives are from industrial sectors. Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) work in the private services sector and just under one third (30 per cent) represent public sector employees.

The congress participants work in a total of 159 widely varied occupations, including welders, flight attendants, fire fighters, gardeners, cooks, abattoir workers, nurses, industrial machinists, business travel consultants and toolmakers.

64 international guests will also attend the SAK Congress in an observer capacity.