SAK Congress focuses on dignified employment and an evolving world of work

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions - SAK is dedicated to ensuring a humane world of work. Human rights are respected in the workplace when employees can work in good surroundings and on decent terms and conditions.

"One cornerstone of dignity at work is that people can be proud of engaging in an occupation that allows them to develop their potential and have a say in how things are done. This also involves opportunities to make independent choices over things like working hours. The trade union movement can help by making sure that employees enjoy equal rights to livelihood, social security, education and safe working conditions, regardless of the way in which work is organised, or of such factors as national origin," says Eija Hietanen, Director of Development at SAK.

Changes in the world of work highlight the need for security. It is increasingly common to come across situations in Finland where enterprises seek to evade their employment obligations through B-to-B arrangements, subcontracting and other comparable assignment agreements. Workers should not be deprived of equal rights based on the formalities under which work is done, and everyone must be entitled to the protection of social security in unstable conditions.

The Congress theme: "My job - Equal rights"

The SAK Congress will convene in Tampere between 6 and 8 June 2011. Held every five years, the Congress is the supreme policymaking body of SAK.

The Congress will consider a "My job - Equal rights" policy programme, describing the basic character of dignified employment and strategies for achieving this goal.

"We need more and better jobs, so that everyone has a job of their own. The focus must be on the unemployed, young people and skills. Everyone who becomes unemployed must have access either to work on a subsidised wage, on-the-job training, or some other educational programme after three months out of work. All school leavers must be guaranteed access to further education as a right, and employees must have guaranteed opportunities to maintain and improve their skills at all career stages," insists SAK President Lauri Lyly.

A minimum monthly wage of EUR 1,800

"Work must pay well enough to ensure a decent livelihood. SAK is seeking to reinforce the minimum security provided by collective agreements. We are calling for a minimum wage of EUR 1,800 in collective agreement pay scales over the coming Congress period," Lyly explains.

One key objective of SAK is decent work, and the policy programme also specifies the essential features of this concept.

"The productivity, quality, competitiveness and humane character of a job crucially depend on how well it embodies the essential features of decent work. The only way for Finland to succeed is by improving standards in the world of work. This is also the key to longer working careers and a balanced national economy," Lyly stresses.

The SAK President insists that tougher measures are needed to combat the grey economy and infringements of collective agreements.

"Besides providing more resources for regulatory control by public authorities, it is important to tackle negligence and offences in the field of employment and working conditions by prescribing penalty fines for breaching collective agreements in addition to the employer&#;8217s ordinary liability for damages. Trade unions must also be granted legal standing in such matters to ensure comprehensive and proper judicial consequences for employment-related offences," Lyly insists.

My job - Equal rights. The SAK policy programme for 2011-2016. Summary of draft version (pdf)