SAK speeds up computerisation of union activists

Nordic unions force Ikea to smarten up its act

Finnish is the main language of trade union www-sites in Finland

Welfare State Reaches Turning Point*

Finland near EU average in accidents at work

More work-related deaths - experts blame new work structures

In ten years Europe will have centralised trade union organisations, believes SAK president Lauri Ihalainen

The Finnish way of doing things is a long way from what Fletcher Challenge demands of its workers in British Columbia

Incomes Policy Goals Originate Abroad - Labour Market Has Entered EMU Era

Helsinki (20.04.1998 - UP/Kari Leppänen*) The Finnish labour market has moved into the era of EMU and of EMU incomes policy agreements, says Timo Kauppinen, research director of the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.

Kauppinen claims that a clear qualitative change began with the 1995 incomes policy agreement. The new direction was confirmed by the December 1997 incomes policy settlement.

"The essential difference with the past is that Finland clearly adapted to economic policy goals which were defined outside of the country, i.e. in the EMU criteria."

Kauppinen emphasises that the framework for the 1995 incomes policy settlement was already obtained directly from EMU convergence criteria. The aims were low inflation and interest rates coupled with a healthy national economy. The latter was defined in terms of two goals: the deficit had to be less than three per cent and the State debt was not to exceed 60 per cent of GNP. Moreover, currency devaluation was no longer to be allowed as a means of restoring price competitiveness.

"These criteria are goals of general economic policy and the national economy must adapt to them."

There are various mechanisms available.

"In Finland these pressures create a spirit of national unity. The Finns adapt to such pressures by means of a concerted labour market settlement."

Kauppinen observes that even in past labour market settlements the parties made allowances for the surrounding world, seeking to safeguard price competitiveness and operating conditions for the export sector. However, problems of internal policy such as industrial disputes, wage drift and runaway inflation tended to negate these efforts.

"Devaluation was always used to correct the situation. Now it can no longer be used, which means that the economy must be managed with greater precision than before."

The parties have responded to external pressures by means of concerted labour market settlements, but such unity has also been accompanied by internal disintegration. Local negotiations have become much more common.

"Local agreements had to be made in the early 1990s because of the need to survive the recession and preserve jobs."

Local agreement has subsequently been approved in national agreements. Almost all collective agreements made in the 1990s authorise local agreements, especially in respect of working hours and timetabling.

"The engineering industry showed the direction and soon authority to negotiate and agree locally spread to practically all agreements."

Kauppinen believes that this trend will continue. The scope for local agreement is encroaching onto wage and salary issues as well as into other conditions of employment.

He feels that national agreements and labour market organisations will preserve their significance, even though local agreement will become more common and the general goals of economic and labour market policy will be formulated abroad. Decision-making power has not slipped away from organisations at national level.

"Agreement on frameworks and general guidelines is still possible at national level. National agreements are needed, especially in order to achieve the general objectives of economic policy."

Neither does Kauppinen believe in cooling down the income distribution struggle, although the margins of the wage and salary settlements will become narrower.

"If the economy is sound, there will also be room for an internal income distribution struggle. One can always ask how incomes are distributed between labour and capital and between earners."

Kauppinen assumes that organisations have not lost their influence, even though labour market policy has in many respects been adapted to the general goals of economic policy.

"Radical structural change will continue and strong lobbying organisations will also be needed in future to defend the rights of various interest groups. In spite of all this, democratic modes of influencing development will remain."

Almost all EU countries are suffering from high unemployment while trying to adapt to the EMU criteria. Different countries have sought solutions moving in similar directions. Kauppinen feels that concerted structures are making a comeback as one alternative among labour market policy approaches.

"In many countries the social partners have responded with employment agreements. This has been done, for instance, in Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Italy. In Germany and Belgium such efforts were made but were not successful."

New, EU level structures are emerging above the national decision-making level. The Maastricht and Amsterdam agreements opened up opportunities for labour market organisations to negotiate at European level about issues pertaining to working life. The employers are represented by Unice, and the employees by the European Trade Union Confederation ETUC.

Now the parties are beginning to negotiate about fixed-term labour relations. The employers have refused to negotiate about hearing the employees at national level.

The organisations already participated in the 1995 talks pertaining to an EU directive on works councils. After this, they agreed on part-time work and parental leave.

Weak though they still are at present, Kauppinen believes that the European-level structures will get stronger as time goes by.

"The role of the organisations is strengthening. As the social dialogue has now begun, its sudden end would be surprising."

According to Kauppinen, the EU Commission would prefer issues pertaining to working life to be agreed upon between the social partners.

"The Commission needs organisations at EU-level to support its own decision-making. It is much easier to discuss with organisations than with everyone separately."

* Kari Leppänen is a journalist working for the independent Finnish news service Uutispalvelu (UP). Kauppinen's interview was originally made for seven trade union magazines in Finland.

SAK speeds up computerisation of union activists

Helsinki (19.04.1998 - Juhani Artto) SAK, the largest central Finnish trade union organisation representing 1.1 million members in its affiliated unions, is to speed up computerisation of local union activists.

According to one SAK estimate, 5,000 - 10,000 union members are thinking about buying or renting a home computer before the end of this year. An agreement negotiated by an organisation as big as SAK would give these members a considerable discount and a strong incentive for individual investment decisions. SAK has asked for tenders for a package comprising a multimedia-equipped pentium, printer, modem and Internet connection. The individual rental or purchase agreement will be made between the union member and the equipment supplier.

SAK plans to launch the project in the autumn. Decisions on this are expected soon.

The idea of more rapid computerisation of SAK union activists comes from neighbouring Sweden, where the corresponding organisation LO, covering 2.2 million workers, has been enormously successful in its own project.

The project began last autumn in Sweden, and by mid-March 58,000 PCs had already been installed in activists' homes. For less than 60 US dollars per month the Swedish deal provides union members with a computer, colour printer, Internet connection, application software package, use of a free telephone helpline for one year, life and long-term unemployment insurance and the right to buy the entire package after a three-year rental period for less than 200 US dollars.

The LO agreement gives union members a 30 per cent discount. Another advantage is that for a deal made on such a scale the provider has been especially interested in guaranteeing easy installation of the package. The provider, Hewlett-Packard, claims that its LO package can be set up in eight minutes.

Trade union organisations in Norway plan a similar computerisation project.

LO's success has been so great that in its March 18 edition The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition published a long and enthusiastic feature article on the PC project of the Swedish trade union movement.

Nordic unions force Ikea to smarten up its act

Helsinki (07.04.1998 - Juhani Artto) To many people around the world, the Ikea brand signifies no more than homely furnishings. Recently, however, The Sunday Times exposed an uglier side of this giant, originally Swedish multinational concern.

The newspaper reported on working conditions at the Romanian Magura plant: one of Ikea's numerous subcontractors. On average its workers earn less than 17 US dollars for a 44-hour working week, i.e. about 40 cents per hour.

The Magura plant was privatised in 1992. The managers of the company became its new owners with the help of a loan provided by Ikea.

The Sunday Times report caused strong reactions in the Nordic trade unions. Norway's wood industry workers union declared its willingness to launch a boycott against Ikea, provided that wood industry workers unions in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland joined the initiative.

In this heated atmosphere another way forward was found. Ikea and the Federation of Nordic Construction and Wood Workers signed an agreement whereby Ikea promised to behave in an orderly manner and to demand the same of its subcontractors. These must all honour the international agreements and recommendations negotiated within the International Labour Organisation, ILO. The agreement should guarantee that employees of Ikea's subcontractors everywhere have the right to set up and join trade unions and to negotiate collective agreements.

In their joint statement, the Federation and Ikea favour improved international codes of practice for working life. The parties plan to create a joint system to supervise enforcement of their agreements and to stay in regular contact concerning the development of the industry.

Finnish is the main language of trade union www-sites in Finland

Helsinki (04.04.1998 - Juhani Artto) The Finns score high in per capita Internet connections and www-publications, but language sets limits on how thoroughly this northern European nation has integrated into the global electronic network. This can clearly be seen in the Finnish trade union movement.

While reading, writing, hearing and speaking English is almost daily routine for academics and the younger generation in Finland, for many other Finns language is still an isolating factor. Five million people speak Finnish, a language which is closely related to Estonian and to several very small minority languages spoken in Russia and also more distantly related to Hungarian.

The trade union organisations are accustomed to publishing materials in Finnish and in Swedish, which is the mother tongue of 300,000 Finns and the second official language in Finland. They have mainly used English and other international languages to advise their counterparts in other countries about the basic facts of the Finnish organised labour scene.

Internet has had little immediate impact on this state of affairs. The three central trade union organisations SAK, STTK and Akava, and a few of their member unions have included some English language material in their www-publications. Since August 1997 there has also been the present publication, Trade Union News from Finland, which provides short background and news stories concentrating on issues of interest to union activists in other countries and on other continents. As the compiler of this publication, I strongly believe that the Finnish experience is as important to know as are the experiences of working people in any other region.

The Finnish trade unions have not been particularly quick to recognise the potential of Internet to dynamise and internationalise the mission of the union movement. The language factor must have been one of the reasons for this slow start.

Until now, Finnish unions have mainly benefited from Internet e-mail. Most of the national union organisations have begun to use e-mail in their daily work. However, rank and file union members with Internet connections are not yet using them much in union activism.

The Finnish union movement seems to be going through a rather long transition period before it learns to make full use of basic Internet services. Despite the high net connection density in Finland, the majority of union activists, who are men in their 40s and 50s, have serious doubts about the whole Internet affair. My prognosis is that it will take 2-4 years before the web is regarded by the Finnish trade unions as an important and regular part of their working methods.

However, many unions already have early versions of their www-publications and many more have sites of their own under construction. More information will be provided in English but the total amount will still probably remain so limited that any globally curious American, Australian, Asian, African, Argentine, Albanian, etc. activists would do well to start learning Finnish.

Welfare State Reaches Turning Point*

Helsinki (26.03.1998 - Rauno Pentti) Intense debate about the welfare state's future is now under way in Finland.  Differing opinions have been expressed as to the role of social policy.  Calculations and examples of many different kinds have been presented, but they don't seem to be culminating in a common vision.

Professor Jukka Pekkarinen, Director of the Labour Institute for Economic Research, thinks this stems more than anything else from the difficulties encountered in grasping the overall effects of the various partial segments. "Modern society is a system where every aspect affects all other aspects, and where even slight shifts can result in major changes”, he says.

“Let's take taxation as an example.  Finland and all the Nordic countries are criticised for their high taxes.  This is the case if taxation as such is compared with the tax rates levied in other countries.  But if everything obtained through tax funds and citizens' total cost burdens are also included in the comparison, the results often look quite different.”

In Pekkarinen's opinion, Nordic social policy is an example of the good that can be accomplished with high tax rates. "The Nordic model starts from universality and provision of services by the public sector.  In international comparisons, these factors have proved to be the most effective in eliminating inequality.  To me, that's one example of an achievement worth paying for," he continues.

Pekkarinen is convinced that the present welfare model enjoys wide support among citizens.  He therefore finds it odd that many economists, bureaucrats and politicians have recently had so much enthusiasm for measures aiming at lower taxation. "I don't believe that social reform can be carried out simply by cutting taxes. In my view, it would also be important to inspect the overall effects of the desired tax cuts," Pekkarinen states.

This is not to say that he considers it unnecessary to talk about cutting tax rates.  "Quite the contrary.  I think it's important that we discuss together, for instance, the best way of guaranteeing the future availability of services falling within the sphere of social security, so long as the discussion is diverse enough.  The advantages and weaknesses of the current scheme, as well as the improvements called for, should be presented openly. Now the discussion easily polarises round the issue of whether or not taxation should be reduced," Pekkarinen continues.

Typical of the situation, in Pekkarinen's opinion, is that bureaucrats, in particular, display monetary calculations illustrating the amounts accrued to the State through taxation and the money spent to manage the public debt and how much is then left for other uses, such as social income transfers.  "In the final analysis, social policy is always a matter of will. Expenditure for social welfare cannot be derived on mathematical grounds," Pekkarinen explains. Pekkarinen suspects that the recent debate has fuelled the concept that social policy has become some sort of burden to the national economy; that money spent for social policy goes down the drain.

"To me, that line of thinking is an antiquated relic from the time when social security was considered a luxury, something to be provided only if it can be afforded. And the national economy was seen as some sort of pie that could be cut into suitably sized slices according to what was considered necessary at the moment. A more relevant concept arouse already in the 1960s, when Pekka Kuusi wrote his internationally acclaimed work on the grounds of Finnish social policy.  Kuusi's departure point was the theory that social income transfers are a factor stabilising the national economy. They reduce differences in incomes and increase citizens' purchase power, thereby vitalising the economy.  I believe this theory is still valid today," Pekkarinen claims.

Pekkarinen guesses that opinions critical of the current welfare model in the end are motivated by concern; concern about the impacts of changes in the social environment and concern about controlling these changes. "The demands of the global economy and of market forces have given rise to new uncertainty factors.  Growth of productivity and improved living standards have become increasingly more dependent on efficiency.  In consequence, we may need to choose from difficult alternatives affecting the economy and social policy. For example, decisions pertaining to taxation may have detrimental effects on incentives affecting individual households," Pekkarinen explains.

He points out that, in weighing potential effects, careful consideration must be given to the advantages and disadvantages on a wider scale. "As I already said, not everything can be measured directly in terms of money. One less tangible
determinant is a peaceful and orderly society. That, too, may be convertible into money in the future, for instance when international enterprises seek sites for their investments", Pekkarinen continues, adding that market forces and their influence are part of our real world.

The swiftness of market forces challenge society to undergo reform at an ever-quickening pace. "Market forces and their actions, however, involve risks that call for protection provided by society. Unemployment insurance, for example,
requires public control, because the need for unemployment insurance may arise from disturbances having widespread impacts."

According to Pekkarinen, the current high unemployment rate is an issue that typically divides experts into two camps. "Some think that high unemployment is here to stay. The idea of citizens' pay, for instance has developed on the basis of this view.  If the idea of citizens' pay were adopted, the fruits of economic productivity would be distributed to people irrespective of whether or not they happened to be gainfully employed. I see this line of thinking as faulty.  It would be a very expensive idea if implemented in practice; firstly, because it would increase the tax burden of those gainfully employed and secondly, because it could lead to abuse. Many might begin to ask why they should work and pay taxes if they could merely collect citizens' pay and work under the table," he says.

Pekkarinen agrees that he is a proponent of the old-fashioned school that strives for high employment. "Of course, the starting point for high employment is a healthy and smoothly functioning economy. In addition, people need to be
encouraged to remain active in working life as long as possible. This calls for measures to ensure that their motivation, know-how and skills are maintained," he continues.

In discussions of employment policy, Pekkarinen says we must also take a serious view of poverty traps. "Great Britain is now considered the model of a new social policy. It has been found, however, that British social security has gaps, say, with respect to single parents. In practice this means that single parents cannot go to work, even if they wish to, because society does not provide a sufficient amount of children's daycare services. People thus are forced to subsist on a weak level of basic income support; the outcome may be impoverishment and exclusion."

In this regards, matters are in better shape in Finland. Even so, Pekkarinen reminds us that our social security also has incentive traps which, for instance, encourage mothers of small children to stay at home rather than return to work.  "The economic gain obtained through various social supports may exceed the income earned by working if low-paying part-time jobs or short, fixed-term contracts are the only employment available."

Nevertheless, ever stronger demands calling for tax cuts are being presented; by bureaucrats, so-called experts and even by many politicians.  The limits to radical cuts, however, are generally acknowledged. The huge public debt is a menace, and its existence cannot be ignored. That's why people calling for tax cuts talk about reductions in public expenditure at the same time, presenting them as the means to implementing tax cuts. But in practice, reductions in public expenditure would lead, for instance, to further savings in expenditure for social welfare and health care.

"In my opinion, these issues should be weighed very carefully, paying particular attention to the impacts such measures might have. I consider our present social policy system to be such a great achievement that we shouldn't jeopardise it by acting rashly. The system guarantees equality fairly well.  We don't have any real division between an upper and a lower class, and no one needs to experience economic insecurity. People also, more or less, have equal opportunity for education and development. If we start to dismantle this system, we might launch a process having unpredictable effects," Pekkarinen cautions, pointing out that the public sector is also a notable employer.

"Appreciable tax cuts would inevitably weaken the service-readiness of the public sector.  The sharpest effects would be felt in women's employment situation, since the public sector - municipalities and the State - is a major source of employment. Privatisation of services would hardly replace all the government jobs lost," he continues.

It riles Pekkarinen that in discussing these issues, even people of high standing in society present opinions based on flimsy premises.  "It would appear that many calls for reform are merely test balls thrown into the fray.  But I don't think they help clarify the total picture.  Nor is the situation improved by the fact that economists and social policy experts often speak a totally different language," he says.

Pekkarinen suspects that bureaucrats aren't always presenting ideas that they themselves have come up with. "It's easy for civil servants to present ideas and opinions because they aren't saddled with political responsibility for them.  But
they know that they are stepping up the pressure centring on issues that political decision-makers must take a stand on. For this reason, I think it would be important for bureaucrats to inspect these issues from a wider perspective, assessing their overall effects as well."

In Pekkarinen's opinion, the current debate has polarised into two camps; neither of the opposing sides listens to the other's reasoning with an open mind.  "I think it would be important to remember that no single social policy system is necessarily the best alternative in changing conditions. New challenges require reform. The system should be inspected critically, but with sufficiently diverse values. That's why I'd prefer a low-key approach to the current debate; no unnecessary exaggerations or half-baked notions."

Pekkarinen concludes by reminding us that a well functioning social security system is an important component of any active, evolving society.  "It increases citizens' basic sense of confidence, the feeling that the material side of life
is under control, and provides a good foundation for constant self-development.  The opposite situation causes insecurity and resistance to change; people then cling tightly to what they already have and avoid new things.  Such a situation stiffens society and also weakens economic activity."

 translated by Sheryl Hinkkanen

*Published originally in Socius Finland 1-98, the English language magazine of Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Finland near EU average in accidents at work

Helsinki (22.03.1998 - Juhani Artto) Finland is close to the EU average in accidents at work. This can be seen from the latest statistics issued by Eurostat.

Accidents at work, standardised numbers per 100,000 persons in employment, 1994 (excluded: road deaths and those from natural causes),
(included: agriculture, hunting, forestry, manufacturing, construction, wholesailing, retailing, repairs, hotels and restaurants, transport and communication, finance, real estate, renting, business activities)

More work-related deaths - experts blame new work structures

Helsinki (15.03.1998 - Juhani Artto) Last year the Finnish authorities registered 166 work-related deaths, an increase of sixteen cases over the previous year.

Asbestosis was the cause of death of 86 individuals. Asbestosis deaths have risen throughout the 1990s. Most of the victims are men formerly engaged in the dockyards and construction industry in the 1950s and 1960s who had retired with disability pensions.

Last year 43 work-related deaths were of a kind in which regulations require a thorough analysis of the individual case. This figure was the highest in ten years.

"This increase in deaths is so stark that it cannot be a coincidence", says Hannu Tarvainen, a  Departmental Manager from the Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions.

"In order to meet the demands of efficiency and competitiveness work has begun to be divided into numerous and chained subcontracts. The time available for completing construction projects has also been cut significantly, increasing haste in planning and in the actual construction work. As a result, there are problems of control and of occupational safety co-operation which undermine the entire safety system."

Last year was an especially gloomy one in the construction industry. Most of the 18 victims of work-related accidents were experienced and skilled workers.

"To raise the safety level, the new risk factors in working life must be analysed and managed at site level", Tarvainen urges.

"New risk factors include segmented and chained subcontracts, short period employment, return to work after unemployment and difficulties in recognising the changing risks of the working environment."

The Federation safety expert Sakari Seppänen points to the problematic role of small enterprises employing fewer than ten workers. "Small contractors neither identify present risks nor have a clear understanding of safety management."

"Both subcontractors and those who arrange subcontracting must increase their participation in practical safety management at joint work sites", Seppänen says.

Although last year there were more fatal accidents than there have been for a long time, the total number of work-related accidents has fallen rapidly. In the peak year of 1974 the authorities registered 268,000 work-related accidents in which a total of 252 individuals lost their lives.

In the 1990s, the annual number of work-related accidents and illnesses has levelled off at about 130,000. During the last boom period for the Finnish economy ten years ago the authorities registered almost 200,000 work-related accidents and cases of illness.

As a whole and over the long term the trend has been very positive, the experts at the Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions emphasise.

In ten years Europe will have centralised trade union organisations, believes SAK president Lauri Ihalainen

Helsinki (09.03.1998 - Juhani Artto) The trade union movement must react to changes in working life and society by reforming itself. So says Lauri Ihalainen who is the president of SAK, the largest central trade union organisation in Finland. In his future vision the movement faces major challenges.

Reforming the union movement, however, does not mean abandoning its basic values. Rather the opposite.

"A trade union movement solidly based on true values will gain strength in the future. Trade union organisation is a spiritual and social movement. It is not like a department store or insurance company, of which one can expect a certain return for a certain investment. Sometimes, our basic values have been left in the background, but in difficult times it has been these very values which have kept us together", Ihalainen emphasises.

"No doubt globalisation - the internationalisation of the economy and of business enterprises - is the biggest challenge facing us."

"Finland can succeed in fiercer competition only by high quality, good know-how and specialisation. To compete through low wages and low indirect labour costs would be a bad strategic choice", Ihalainen says.

"At its best, Finland will attract foreign capital because of the stability of its social and economic system, not because it is dismantling the welfare state."

"In the near future, as members of the European economic and monetary union, we will have to adapt to a low inflation society. This will force us to seek solutions which boost individual purchasing power, as opposed to increasing the nominal size of wages and salaries."

Although Ihalainen characterises the fight for better pay as an essential task of the trade unions, he emphasises that the overall role of the movement must be viewed in broader terms. As one of the key terms in his vision of the future, he speaks of "pro-active collective bargaining": we must take the initiative ourselves and be able to avoid always saying "no". In addition to its labour market role, the trade union movement must seek an international impact and an influence on the development of Finnish society.

"In defending our rights internationally we are lagging behind the interests of capital and the employers, but this situation will change."

Ihalainen believes that within ten years Europe will have trade union organisations which are no longer limited within national borders and which will work for collective agreements on an international level.

"The significance of these organisations will increase in the future, even though collective agreements will mainly remain national."

"Domestically we have to influence income distribution, social security, prices, taxes and many other things. A broad, enterprising policy is the most effective way to work for the rights of employees."

Ihalainen predicts that continuous, long-term employment will come to be valued again.

"It may be a surprising conclusion, but the fashion for outsourcing and networking has its limits. A turnaround is bound to occur because good quality and satisfactory financial results demand a high level of know-how and commitment."

"The proportion of short-period employment, however, is still increasing. 64 per cent of recently created jobs have been temporary. Big challenges for the unions also include the overlapping of production of goods and services and the fact that workplaces are becoming smaller."

"The reality of working life no longer corresponds to the taylorism which forms the basis of trade union organisational structure and of the collective agreement system."

Local collective bargaining will increase, but Ihalainen considers it vital that the change is implemented in an organised way.

"It is essential that national agreements continue to be universally binding in the future and that the shop steward network is extended to cover smaller workplaces."

This may mean the election of regional shop stewards or authorising union officials to bargain on behalf of employees working in small workplaces.

"The unification project* of the private service sector unions is a good example of progress in the right direction. We have to look for larger entities in the movement."

"In future the parties may sign framework agreements for entire sectors. These would define the basic terms of employment common to all staff groups. Wages and salaries would still depend on how demanding the work is."

Ihalainen thinks that in ten years there could well be just one central trade union confederation in Finland instead of the present three.

"In any case, the memberships and the goals of SAK and STTK are so similar that the two organisations may well converge. At the next stage it will be essential to increase practical co-operation in education, international and local lobbying, solidarity work and communication."

In Ihalainen's vision, women will play a stronger role in the trade union movement and the members will be equal regardless of how successful each is in working life.

"The union activists of the future represent the generation following the baby boomers. They have a higher standard of education and a broader variety of professional skills than their predecessors. They are also more international. At the workplace the union activists of the future will participate in the development of the entire work unit and of the enterprise. Their role will not be limited narrowly to pay and benefit issues."

"As for human relations at the workplace, the union activist of the future will not be a disciple of the employer, but a teacher."

(The interview is published in Finnish in "Ravintolahenkilökunta", the magazine of the Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union.)

* Four affiliated unions of SAK have begun negotiations with the goal of merging into a single union. These unions organise commercial, hotel and catering workers, janitors, cleaners and a few smaller employee groups.

The Finnish way of doing things is a long way from what Fletcher Challenge demands of its workers in British Columbia

Helsinki (09.03.1998 - Juhani Artto) 2,400 paperworkers at Fletcher Challenge in British Columbia, Canada, have been on strike since mid-July 1997. Two unions are involved in the dispute: the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) and the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers Union of Canada (PPWU).

Phil Davies, editor of the PPWU local newsletter, has sent a message to Trade Union News from Finland asking for details of the collective agreement of the Finnish paper workers. He wants to compare the demands of Fletcher Challenge in British Columbia with the collective agreement in the Finnish forest industry.

"The company demands that all workers do whatever job they are assigned to, regardless of job description, trade guideline, or line of progression", Davies writes.

The Finnish solution is a long way from this. Demarcation lines in Finland are still intact and respected. An exception to this is the huge new pulp mill at Rauma in south-western Finland, where the agreement allows more flexible use of human resources.

"The company wants 365 day running time", Davies reports.

In the Finnish paper industry, up to the end of last year, there was a shutdown over the Mayday, Midsummer and Christmas holiday periods. A new agreement in the industry has moved the paid holidays around Mayday onto the two remaining holiday shutdowns. Both of these last for four days and eight hours.

In Canada, Fletcher Challenge seeks a six-year agreement. In Finland the present two-year agreement is valid from the beginning of 1998 until mid-January 2000.

In Finland the employers are committed to avoid the contracting out of permanent tasks to any extent exceeding the situation at the end of last year. The collective agreement allows temporary outsourcing during peak production and repair periods.

Media coverage of the western Canadian paperworkers' strike in Finland has included reports in the largest circulation daily paper Helsingin Sanomat and in the magazine of the Finnish Paperworkers Union.