My job - Equal rights: the 18th SAK Congress

The 18th Congress of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions - SAK will take place at Tampere Hall on 6-8 June. The SAK Congress is an opportunity for the organisation to revise its programme objectives and plan the future operating modes of the Finnish trade union movement.

The motto of the 18th SAK Congress will be My job - Equal rights. Some 270 delegates from the affiliated trade unions of SAK will attend this three-day event.

The Congress will consider the policy objectives of SAK for the period from 2011 to 2016. These objectives will specify the goals of SAK collective bargaining and other activities, and the core mission of SAK as a national labour confederation. The Congress will also update the strategy and values of the organisation to ensure their continued relevance to the evolving world of work.

On Tuesday 7 June the Congress will elect the President of SAK, together with the members and chairpersons of the organisation&#;8217s General Council and Executive Board. A total of 119 representatives of affiliated trade unions will also be elected to the new General Council of SAK.

The Congress will debate various resolutions proposed by the affiliated trade unions. A total of 58 resolutions have been submitted on such subjects as improving unemployment benefits, the job security and social welfare of various categories of employee, vocational education and training, competitive tendering, multiculturalism, and combating the grey economy.

About thirty representatives of the international trade union movement will also attend the Congress as observers. The new General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, Bernadette Ségol, will speak on the opening day of the Congress, which will also hear formal addresses from representatives of the Finnish government.