SAK the most highly esteemed lobbying organisation in Finland

Two out of three Finns (62 per cent) appreciate the work of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions &#;8211 SAK, making it the most highly esteemed labour market organisation in the country. Public opinion towards labour market lobbying groups was investigated in a labour market atmosphere survey conducted by Gallup Finland in spring 2004.

Runners-up to SAK in popularity were the Federation of Finnish Enterprises (53 per cent) and the Employers' Confederation of Service Industries – PT (50 per cent). There was roughly even support for four other organisations surveyed: the country's two other employee confederations, STTK and Akava, earned favourable approval ratings from 45 per cent of the population, the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners – MTK enjoyed 46 per cent support, and the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers – TT was favoured by 43 per cent of the Finnish public.

While public appreciation for lobbying organisations as a whole has cooled slightly since autumn 2003, the order of preference remains much the same. The change of 3 percentage points in the approval rating for SAK was the smallest recorded. SAK has made favourable progress over the long term in comparison with the other organisations.

The labour market atmosphere survey was commissioned by SAK. A total of one thousand people were interviewed for the survey.