SAK and unions launch membership drive

At the beginning of February the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions - SAK and its affiliated unions launched a membership drive that will continue throughout the spring. The theme of this recruiting campaign is "the law of the jungle is a thing of the past". This slogan stresses that working life is governed by ground rules negotiated by the trade unions to ensure security and rights for every employee. SAK's affiliated unions have a total of about 1,050,000 rank and file members, making the organisation the largest of Finland's three employee confederations.

The membership drive targets young adults beginning their working careers. The theme will be illustrated with life stories and humour, encouraging young people to think about their rights as employees and to join the appropriate trade union. The membership drive will also focus on casual workers and immigrants.

During February the staff and activists of SAK-affiliated unions will visit thousands of workplaces to advise the workforce about the benefits of trade union membership and the basic regulations that govern working life. Events will also be organised in shopping centres and city squares, with summer job advisory services for young people later in the spring.

A campaign of television, radio and billboard advertising will support the membership drive. Advertisements will encourage young people to visit websites for information on their rights as employees and on the work of the trade unions. The membership drive has a website of its own at www.liityammattiliittoon.fi, including brochures in English, Estonian and Russian advising employees of their rights and explaining the activities of trade unions.

Young people well disposed towards unions

The most common reason given by young adults for not belonging to a trade union is that they simply have not got around to joining. Surveys indicate that young people have a favourable opinion of Finnish unions, but that they know too little about these organisations. This lack of information is also a problem for employees of foreign origin. Although the SAK-affiliated unions have about 11,000 immigrant members, the trade union organising rate in the immigrant communities remains much lower than that of the general population.

Finland has grown accustomed to a very high rate of trade union membership: three out of four Finnish employees belong to a union. The total membership of SAK-affiliated trade unions has remained quite stable for many decades. Even so, changes in working life, such as the disintegration of workplaces, increased use of casual labour, the emergence of new trade unions and extended periods of further and higher education, have remained a challenge for the union movement. Unions must continue to communicate with their current and future members even, and especially, when circumstances change.