Citizens' trust on the trade union movement has grown

Business think tank's study proves

Confidence of the Finns on the trade union movement has in last ten years clearly strengthened. Ten years ago 43 per cent of the Finns regarded the movement as a drag against development. Now the corresponding percentage is 30. Only 12 per cent of the 18-19 years of age respondents agreed with the drag claim and 18 per cent of the 20-30 years of age.

These results are included in the study made by the leading business life think tank EVA (Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA) and published in early March. According to the same study the trust on the business life itself is on a low level. Almost half of the respondents (48 per cent) think that the business life representatives' talk about the necessity of change and about a threatening crisis is mere propaganda, aimed to bend wage and salary earners to accept cuts in their pay and benefits.

Two thirds of the respondents were of the opinion that the Finnish society has too much surrendered to blind market forces and selfish profit seeking.

The study shows that a large majority of the Finns (63 per cent) share the central trade union SAK's worry about mass redundancies at profitable enterprises. Almost two thirds of the respondents (63 per cent) do not regard the recent redundancies as financially necessary. Even among the respondents who are in "leading positions" 43 per cent agreed with this majority.

EVA believes that one reason for the critics against redundancies may be a feeling that the work tempo is too rapid already without the redundancies. Almost 90 per cent of the people think that work places make employees to loose too early their working ability. This is in steep contrast with the business life demands for ever more employee flexibility to increase the cost efficiency.

Only less than a quarter of the respondents are of the opinion that the interests of the employees and the employers are common. Still four years ago more than a third thought so. Over 60 per cent of the Finns want more influence for the employees at enterprises.

Ten years ago over 40 per cent of the Finns supported significant privatisation of public services. Now their provision has sunk below 30 per cent.

Ironic in EVA's latest study on values and attitudes is that almost all of its results contradict business life representatives' recent messages that try to make people believe in the bliss of deregulated market forces. That concerns also people's attitudes towards the present-form globalisation. Only 22 per cent of the Finns believe it to increase global welfare.

The results are based on answers given by 2,264 persons, 18-70 years of age. The original sample was 5,000 randomly selected Finns. Because of low reply rate the sample was increased by 500 persons.

This article was first published in English in Trade Union News in Finland.