The Finnish
Trade Union Movement plays
an Active Role in the International SolidarityA report produced in Summer 1998
by the Trade Union Solidarity Center of Finland - SASK
1. Solidarity is Part of
International Industrial Relations
2. Trade Union
Rights are Trampled on Almost Everywhere in Africa
3. Favourable Results Encourage
Further Work
4. Gradual Steps into Asia
5. Support for the Near-Abroad as well
6. Child Labour Must be Abolished
7.
Seeking a Joint Solidarity Centre for the Entire Trade Union Movement
Staff of the Trade Union
Solidarity Centre of Finland - SASK
Members of the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland - SASK
1. Solidarity is Part of International
Industrial Relations
In May 1998 the Indonesian authorities released Muchtar
Pakpahan, the leader of the country's independent trade union movement. He had been
imprisoned for his trade union activities for over 22 months and had also been subject to
arbitrary arrest several times before this. News of the release was received in Finland
with some satisfaction.
Since 1995 the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland -
SASK has provided funding for the educational work of the Serikat Buruh Sejahtera
Indonesia - SBSI (Indonesian Prosperous Labour Union), the trade union centre led by
Pakpahan.
A desire to help the oppressed is not the only reason for
the support provided by the Finns. "Solidarity has become part of international
industrial relations" the Director of SASK, Hannu Ohvo, explains. "Moral reasons
aside, it is in our own interests to support the Indonesian trade union movement. The same
thing applies with equal justification to our support for Malaysian woodworkers and
African engineering workers. We are nowadays increasingly interdependent and so a rise in
living standards in Indonesia or Africa is in everyone's interests."
The international trade union movement accepts that wages
may be used as a competitive factor but it does not approve of social dumping. We are
working for a world where the fundamental rights of working life are respected everywhere
and in which everyone will have the right to organise and be active in trade unions"
Ohvo stresses. "For example the international pressure on Nike to clean up its
personnel policies is something which is very necessary and deserves the support of trade
unions everywhere. We also support an international boycott of Nigeria and bringing
pressure to bear on the Shell Corporation because Shell has a lot of influence in that
country."
Co-operation Across the Demarcation Lines
The members of SASK include the Central Organisation of
Finnish Trade Unions - SAK and its member unions, representing a total of 1.1 million
individual union members. Since 1997 union branches and private individuals have been able
to join SASK as supporting members. There is a voluntary subscription fee and it is hoped
that supporting members will get involved in the activities and general meetings of the
organisation. By June 1998 61 union branches and 29 private individuals had joined SASK as
supporting members.
SASK is also involved in joint projects with several other
Finnish trade union organisations: the Union of Health and Social Services - Tehy, the
Union of Finnish Enrolled Nurses - SuPer, the Union of Technical Employees - TL, the
Financial Sector Workers Union, the Trade Union of Education in Finland - OAJ, the Finnish
Confederation of Salaried Employees - STTK and its member organisation STTK-J, the Union
of Salaried Employees in Industry - STL and the Confederation of Unions for Academic
Professionals in Finland - Akava are among its more important project partners even though
these have not yet become members of SASK.
There were 54 development co-operation projects under way
during 1997. This work mainly involved training for trade union educators, leaders and
grassroots activists. The total sum invested by SASK in development co-operation was FIM
8.9 million. Thirteen projects were completed during the year. Most projects are in Africa
(24) and Latin America (18). SASK took part in seven projects in Asia, while twelve
projects were implemented as joint regional endeavours involving the trade union movements
of several countries.
The trade union movements of Central and Eastern Europe
are also in need of support. The international trade union movement - including Finland -
is also involved in this region and SASK has taken part in some concrete projects as a
result. One example of this kind of work was a project in Bosnia which was prepared in
1997 and launched in 1998. Bosnia, however, was exceptional as the Central and Eastern
European projects which are most important in the work of SASK are in regions nearer to
Finland, particularly the Baltic States and Karelia.
Joint endeavours with the Development Co-operation
Division of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs have been constructive. In April 1997 this
Division and SASK agreed to extend their framework agreement made for the years 1995-1997
so as to run until the end of March 1998. A new agreement for the years 1998-2000 was
concluded in April 1998.
SASK considers the quality of its project operations to be
at least as important as the volume of resources devoted to them. An increasing emphasis
is being placed on evaluating the work which has been done.
SASK is not Exporting a Finnish Approach
SASK has no field organisation of its own. Projects arise
according to the needs of the aid recipient. Proposals have been submitted by trade unions
in the developing countries, by international trade union organisations and in certain
cases by the Finnish partner. SASK provides the funding while the implementation of the
project is mainly the responsibility of a professional international secretariat in
various specialisms together with bilateral co-operation partners.
Finnish trade unions provide a significant contribution in
implementing project plans in the near-abroad. Financial support to trade unions in the
developing countries and in countries near to Finland is provided by hundreds of trade
union organisations in the developed world. Although the roles of these organisations are
harmonised at regular international meetings, Executive Director Ohvo finds that
unnecessary reduplication of work still occurs and so co-ordination of the work must be
still further improved.
Recently experts from the Finnish trade union movement
have served as trainers in trade union organisation training events arranged in the third
world. Representatives of the Chemical Workers Union and the Union of Health and Social
Services - Tehy have worked as trainers in Brazil and representatives of the Transport
Workers Union have performed similar duties in Africa.
"Although exporting know-how is a growth industry, we
take pains to avoid exporting model solutions to our target countries. The Finnish labour
market system is unbeatable in Finland, but models have to be individually designed for
each country by harmonising the rule of law, local custom and practice together with local
political conditions" Ohvo advises.
"In countries with a strong trade union movement,
working life is generally regulated by collective bargaining, while in those with a weaker
trade union movement the main emphasis is on legislative measures. However, both
approaches are needed everywhere."
Among sources of funding, the closest foreign partners for
SASK come from the other Nordic countries and from The Netherlands. Links with an
international trade union co-operation organisation, the Commonwealth Trade Union Council
- CTUC, have become closer and projects supported jointly by organisations in several
countries are becoming more common.
The First Fruits Were from Africa
"The change in South Africa is undoubtedly one of the
most positive processes in which SASK has been involved" says Ohvo. "For many
years we provided direct budget support to the largest central trade union organisation,
the Congress of South African Trade Unions - Cosatu." Now Cosatu has become so
powerful that relations have entered a new era. Cosatu proposed that a programme of
co-operation should be compiled in place of the earlier projects. This programme will be
based on an exchange of know-how and experience between partners of equal status. The
change will apply both to central organisations and to individual trade unions.
"This is the long-term objective of all project work.
We want to reinforce the status of partners which are in a disadvantaged position to the
point where they no longer need help from stronger partners and where co-operation is
placed on a normal footing. The regular relations between trade union organisations in the
Nordic countries is, for us, the finest example of what we mean by normal
co-operation."
The development of the trade union movement in Chile is
reminiscent of the rise of Cosatu, even though progress in Chile has not been as
spectacular as that in South Africa. However, the situation in Chile has strengthened to
such a degree that SASK has been able to allocate its resources to other countries on the
same continent.
"We started supporting the South Africans and
Chileans in a strong spirit of solidarity, without considering the value of such work in
the industrial relations context. Subsequently our reasons have become more diversified.
Working particularly in the latest target areas for solidarity operations - in the
near-abroad - has helped us to realise with increasing clarity that solidarity work is
also international industrial relations."
Ohvo considers that the work which has been done to
improve the status of women has had important results. "The improvement of attitudes
within the trade union movement has been an important advance", he stresses. This has
improved the prospects for increasing the degree of unionisation of women and the
representation of women in elected bodies and training events.
2. Trade Union Rights are Trampled on
Almost Everywhere in Africa
Ever since SASK was founded, Africa has been one of its
most important target areas. In the beginning we concentrated on supporting liberation
movements like the ANC and SWAPO, but now the objectives of our solidarity work are to
establish strong national unions and central organisations as well as consistency in the
trade union movement" says Project Manager Mirjam Korhonen.
"It is the aim of all projects to increase the number
of local trade union activists and to enhance their abilities."
SASK channels most of its aid to Africa through
international and local trade unions, which reinforces their status. The most spectacular
result of the work sponsored by SASK is the transformation of South Africa from a State
characterised by institutionalised racial discrimination into a democracy and the
country's trade union movement into an important independent force in society.
The situation provides new opportunities for developing
the trade union movement across the whole of southern Africa. A project whereby shop
stewards in the mining, energy generation and chemical industry sectors exchange their
experiences across international borders is one indication of this.
International networking serves as a check on social
dumping and creates a counterweight to the might of South African capital, which is a
powerful factor across the whole of southern Africa.
Establishing an Independent Trade Union Movement
is Laying a Cornerstone of Democracy
The work of SASK partners has also made good headway in
Zimbabwe. The central labour organisation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions - ZCTU,
has become an influential factor in the country expressing views on which the government
cannot remain indifferent. The organisation has served as a source of proposals and as a
uniting force in the democratisation of the country.
For years the Zimbabweans have published a paper called
"The Worker", which is subsidised from Finland and has a readership going beyond
the confines of the trade union movement.
The Commercial Workers Union of Zimbabwe - CWUZ is
improving its financial self-sufficiency with the aid of the Finnish Commercial Workers
Union and SASK.
Korhonen explains the background: "Making the
transition to a market economy and multi-party system has been a serious challenge to the
trade union organisations of several African countries. We have been supporting trade
union movements in Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and certain other countries
as they adapt and try to find an independent role in the transition process. The
establishment of an independent trade union movement improves the prospects for
democracy."
In 1997 SASK extended its operations to the northern end
of the African continent. "It's vital that Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco do not
become isolated but rather become increasingly involved in international
collaboration" says Korhonen. There are also plans to begin work in the
French-speaking regions of sub-Saharan Africa.
Under a Tree - Democracy Through Study Circles
Despite the progress made by stronger trade union
organisations, work to construct the African trade union movement is still at a fairly
early stage and faces major obstacles.
The study circles of the Tanzanian and Ugandan public
sector unions are an encouraging example of progress. These involve large numbers of women
and there are many signs of increasing participation by women, which is one of the aims of
the project.
Study circle activities reinforce the sense of belonging
which the members feel and they encourage recruitment of new members. Shop stewards have
training programmes of their own, alternating duties at the workplace with periods of
training lasting a week or several days.
"Study circle participants are generally active and
inspired to make something happen, at times even impatient to find a practical application
for what they have learned" says Matti Lahtinen, who is serving as acting
co-ordinator during 1998. Many employers let their subordinates engage in trade union
studies during working hours because it is their experience that a broad understanding of
matters increases commitment to the enterprise and improves morale at the workplace. Such
thinking ought to be more widespread!
Aids has undermined the trade union movement in many
African countries. The fight against aids in Uganda is something of prime importance. Aids
education is an important part of training programmes elsewhere in Africa, too.
The African trade union movement receives a great deal of
external support. Co-ordination between donors has developed in an exemplary manner in
recent years but there is still room for improvement in co-ordinating project work. This
objective will be served by a project database currently being compiled by the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
3. Favourable Results Encourage Further Work
The fall of military dictators and the end of several
civil wars have made room for a rising trade union movement in Latin America but the pace
of regeneration is not swift.
"Improvements in recent years have been seen more in
qualitative reinforcement than increases in numbers. Military dictatorships seriously
undermined the trade union movement. Following a period of severe persecution it has been
necessary in many countries to start reconstruction work in the movement almost from
scratch and the political parties of the left are no longer behind the trade unions in the
same way as they were in the 1970s." The analysis comes from Liisa Mery, a project
co-ordinator working with SASK in its Latin American projects.
"In spite of hard work, the degree of unionisation
remains low, which significantly limits the influence of the trade union movement. The
trade union organisations also consider it to be important to increase their own financial
self-sufficiency while democratic accountability to the members leaves much to be
desired."
"We are helping the trade union movement to shift
from an enterprise-specific structure to industry-based national unions. We also support
work to build trade union structures covering entire continents", Mery says.
Examples of the development of uniform structures are the
establishment of a Health Service and Social Workers Union in Brazil and a Sugar Workers
Union in the Dominican Republic which cut across central organisation demarcation lines.
Nor has the process stopped at this. Preparations were begun in the Dominican Republic to
merge organisations of foodstuffs industry workers belonging to four central
organisations.
SASK has also supported the development of trade union
training activities in the Dominican Republic into a comprehensive system.
Over 40 per cent of the members of trade unions in the
central trade union organisation Confederacion Trabajadores Unitario - CTU are women.
Training to reinforce the status of women has been given priority and, according to Mery,
this has led to concrete results. An increasing number of women are now getting involved
in the elected bodies of individual unions and at central organisation level.
A Social Dimension for Globalisation
The most important social changes taking place in Latin
America include economic integration and privatisation. If the trade union movement is to
have an impact, it must be prepared to take a wide range of measures. This has been taken
into consideration in the educational projects supported by SASK, which implements them in
association with La Organizacion Regional Interamericana de Trabajadores - ORIT, which is
the regional organisation of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
"Training is no longer viewed as a separate area of operations, but is expected to
support every aspect of our work" says Mery.
"Economic integration increases competition between
countries and enterprises. Trade union organisations across the continent are not opposed
to this, but they emphasise the point that the change must not be made at the expense of
social rights. It is stressed in the educational work of ORIT that the trade union
organisations of various countries must not be at the mercy of international competition,
but instead must improve their cross-border co-operation. There is talk in the regional
trade union movement of the need to "democratise globalisation". The free trade
agreement between the Central American States and the Dominican Republic provides a
typical example of development to the contrary. "The trade union organisations of the
Dominican Republic were entirely excluded from the negotiations for the agreement, which
contains no social dimension whatsoever", Mery observes. Similar problems are
also reported by the trade union movements of other countries in the Central American and
Caribbean area, even though the trade unions of the southern Latin American States are
represented in its Mercosur integration project.
Privatisation Can Also Provide Opportunities
The trade union movement in Latin America is stronger in
the public than in the private sector. Trade unions in the energy sector of Panama and
Guatemala see in privatisation not only threats but also opportunities for a brighter
future. These unions have decided to make an effort to participate in the privatisation
process, which governments will put into effect come what may. This shift in thinking is a
considerable one and has taken place over the last couple of years. The unions are seeking
a situation in which the private sector will also have strong trade unions and better
prospects in industrial relations.
The trade union movement has great difficulties in the
free production zones of many countries because most governments have prohibited all union
organisation in these zones in a manner which is quite clearly contrary to internationally
accepted principles. The prohibition is flagrantly exploited by several enterprises based
in the United States and in the rapidly industrialising countries of the Far East. In
spite of many inadequacies in the Latin American trade union movement and the strength of
the opposition to it, Mery is optimistic. As project co-ordinator for SASK since 1991 she
has seen how projects which are planned and implemented well can produce encouraging
results.
4. Gradual Steps into Asia
SASK provides less support to Asian trade union movements
than it does to those of Africa, Latin America and the near-abroad. As resources increase,
some efforts are being made to bring this state of affairs into balance. Despite the fact
that this target area is home to more than two billion people, there is nobody on the
current staff who could take full-time charge of the work of SASK in Asia.
"The trade union movement in Asia is a weak one. The
need for support is evident and a great deal of international aid is in fact
available," says Ohvo, who feels that it would be worthwhile for SASK to extend its
work on those Asian projects to which the other solidarity organisations have paid less
attention.
"This is what SASK did in 1995 when it began to
finance the severely oppressed central organisation of the Indonesian independent trade
union movement SBSI. Our decision to go into Indonesia was also justified by the increased
scale of operations of Finnish-owned enterprises in that country."
"Muchtar Pakpahan, the leader of the SBSI, told us
that Finnish enterprises were welcome to come to Indonesia provided that they brought with
them the norms which govern working life in Finland," says Ohvo, who visited
Indonesia in April 1998.
Malaysia has rapidly become wealthy over the last decade.
While the trade union movement is officially sanctioned there, the rulers of the country
have put obstacles in its way. There are large income differentials and there is still a
very long way to go before the Malaysian worker enjoys the norms of European working life
and the standard of living of a European wage-earner. The Finns finance trade union
training in the Malaysian telecommunications and woodworking industries. In India SASK has
long supported the Self-Employed Women's Association - SEWA. SASK also has projects in
Pakistan and works in association with the Commonwealth Trade Union Council - CTUC in the
Pacific islands.
"The political changes necessary for profitable
project work in China have still not yet taken place" says Ohvo. However, he is
satisfied that the Confederation of Finnish Trade Unions - SAK maintains contacts with the
official trade union movement in China. "There would be no sense in trying to isolate
the Chinese trade union movement".
5. Support for the Near-Abroad as well
The latest field of operations for SASK lies in areas near
to Finland with a combined population of more than 15 million people. This region includes
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and regions of the Russian Federation in the near vicinity of
Finland such as the Murmansk Region, the Republic of Karelia and St. Petersburg together
with the surrounding Leningrad Region.
Local support work by the Finnish trade union movement
began soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the breakup of the Soviet system.
New governments in the new and old independent States set their sights on a market
economy, the operations of which only a tiny fraction of their populations had any kind of
understanding whatsoever.
In Russia, and especially in its north-western
territories, the economy has collapsed, leading to a severe social crisis. The economic
downturn has continued all the way to the beginning of 1998 and there are no credible
indications that it is going to end soon. Trade union membership has also declined,
although the high level inherited from the Soviet era has generally continued, and is as
much as 70 per cent in the Karelia Region.
The set-up in the Baltic states is very different. The
economy has avoided a trough and growth has been rapid, especially in Estonia, although
trade union membership is not popular and people in general do not have a high opinion of
trade unions. The average rate of unionisation in the Baltic States is 30 per cent. The
total membership of the trade union movement in Estonia has remained roughly static since
1996.
The rulers in Estonia and the Baltic States have
implemented such a tough programme of capitalism that many are asking whether the public
sector is going to disappear entirely. In many respects the still undeveloped and
inadequate legal system leaves loopholes which are exploited by various fly-by-night
enterprises with questionable scruples. It has not (yet) become customary to know and
abide by existing legislation. Many employers operating in unregulated conditions have
taken unscrupulous advantage of the situation and the trade union movement has not been
prepared to face the changes in circumstances which have occurred.
A new kind of know-how and attitude is now required of
leaders and activists in trade union organisations. Gaining knowledge and experience of
operating in market economy conditions is the most urgent and primary task facing the
trade union movement in the countries to the immediate south and east of Finland.
The Finnish trade union movement is financing trade union
training and the provision of modern equipment to trade union offices across the eastern
border and in the Baltic States. Trade union members from various districts of Finland are
also sending humanitarian aid to these regions.
Opposition to Social Dumping
"When the old system collapsed, the focus of interest
of the Finnish trade union movement changed. It became important to encourage enterprises
not to engage in social dumping in the near-abroad" says Eila Kämäräinen, who has
worked as a project co-ordinator for SASK since 1996.
The Finnish trade unions have, since the very beginning,
participated actively both in compiling and implementing plans for co-operation projects
in the near-abroad. Their role in developing countries further away from Finland has been
narrower, most often confined merely to providing project funding.
The Finnish State subsidises projects in the near-abroad
to the tune of hundreds of millions of Finnish marks, but it was not until 1997 that it
began to allocate a small portion of this subsidy to work done by trade unions and other
voluntary organisations. The amount concerned was FIM 4 million, while the demand was for
many times this amount. SASK received FIM 300,000 of this sum for use on two projects in
Lithuania and one in Latvia.
In 1998 the SASK share of Finnish State subsidies to
development in the near-abroad is FIM 449,000. SASK applied for a budget four times this
size and, with its member organisations, sought to enlarge its ability to engage in such
development work. In 1998 SASK is supporting seven projects in the near abroad. Four of
these are being implemented in Estonia and the others in Murmansk, Latvia and Lithuania.
The trade unions are also implementing projects in the near-abroad, principally in
Estonia, with no State subsidy at all. SASK is only participating in project activities
which enjoy a State subsidy.
The first EU-funded SASK project began in Karelia in 1997.
SASK was the first Finnish non-governmental organisation to receive project funding from
the EU programme for developing democracy in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
Through a project which is 80 per cent financed by the Tacis fund, activists from Karelian
trade unions are being trained to work in new conditions. By June 1998 almost 500 local
activists had participated in the training organised within this two-year project.
In a project continuing to 1999 functional membership
records are being compiled for the central trade union organisation of Estonia - the
Association of Estonian Trade Unions - EAKL, and for its ten member unions. The project
also includes training in democratic fair play procedures both within the trade union
movement and across the entire social spectrum. 80 per cent of the finance for this
project comes from the Phare fund of the European Union.
A Tradition of Co-operation Lives on in Russia
According to Eila Kämäräinen, trade union work in
Russia is easier because collective action is a traditional way of getting things done in
the country. The work is hampered by the negative attitudes of employers towards the trade
union movement. Furthermore, many wage-earners are wary of becoming active in the trade
union movement, fearing that they will become unpopular with their employers and lose
their jobs because the law and collective agreements provide no effective protection for
shop stewards. Trade union activists in the Baltic States have the same problem. "It
is unusual for employers in Russia and the Baltic States to realise that a competent trade
union organisation is not a threat to an enterprise but is rather a useful partner for
it" says Kämäräinen.
6.
Child Labour Must be Abolished
For years the international trade union movement has
engaged in a high-profile campaign to stop the use of child labour and such activities in
the developing countries have recently been a prime concern of domestic campaigning by
SASK. The trade union press and other media have received from SASK written materials and
photographs bearing on this subject, and a great volume of this material has been
published. SASK has also disseminated information on child labour at non-governmental
organisation seminars and other events pertaining to the developing countries as well as
at trade union functions.
Public opinion in Finland is strongly opposed to the
exploitation of children. One difficulty for the campaign has been that of how to
transform the progressive attitude of the public in Finland into effective practical
action. In contrast with the situation in certain other industrialised countries, there is
no strong tradition of consumer boycotts in Finland, nor is the business community
particularly vigilant in investigating the origin of the products and materials which it
uses.
Enterprises generally shift the blame onto parts of the
production and distribution chain which are far away from Finland. This information is
part of an investigation of importer operations performed in spring 1998, which SASK and
14 other organisations compiled as part of the Global March Against Child Labour campaign.
Trade unions representing the staff of sectors with a high
proportion of women workers such as sales staff, textile and garment industry workers and
municipal employees have been particularly active in opposing child labour.
"Pakistan has become an example country for our
campaign against child labour. It is a country in which, despite agreements, legislation
and political decisions, tens of millions of children are still working full-time,
millions of them as debt slaves" says Helena Lipponen, Secretary for Information and
Finance.
SASK is financing a project in Pakistan which began in
1997 and seeks to reduce the use of child labour in the country's textile industry.
"International pressure together with support for local trade unions and other
non-governmental organisations are needed to correct the situation in Pakistan. The role
of collective bargaining in Pakistan is a relatively underdeveloped institution and in
this developing process employers can be required to give an undertaking not to use child
labour." explains Helena Lipponen. "Although in forums such as the ILO the issue
of child labour has now become a matter for concrete action instead of mere speechmaking,
we must persist in this campaign. The question is one of choice and we are all
responsible. Child labour could be abolished within a very short time if only the
necessary real political will to do so existed."
7. Seeking a Joint Solidarity Centre
for the Entire Trade Union Movement
The domestic climate for the work of SASK is a favourable
one, as public opinion polls indicate that a large majority of the population of Finland
supports at least the present level of development co-operation. This suggests that the
State and trade union organisations will continue to devote significant resources to
international solidarity work.
SASK has no great resources of its own for influencing
public opinion. Thus the most important target groups for information work by SASK are the
managerial and administrative staff of trade union organisations and trade union
activists.
According to Director Hannu Ohvo, there has even been an
improvement in attitudes within the trade union movement during the 1990s. "This
change matches the expectations of those trade union officials who were involved in
international work in the early years of SASK operations, back in the late 1980s"
Ohvo notes. In the 1990s it has been easier to identify international solidarity with
concrete industrial relations as the daily workload of trade union officials now includes
international affairs and there have always been small groups of solidarity movement
activists at the workplace. However, there is always scope for making more information
available.
One of the specialities of SASK solidarity work are its
work brigades. In recent years these have focused on the Dominican Republic, where the
brigades have renovated trade union premises. Since 1992 between 8 and 20 volunteers
annually have participated in the SASK brigades and have returned to Finland with new
insight into the lives of people in the developing countries and of the operational
framework of their trade union movements.
"The popularity of solidarity work depends decisively
on what kind of idea the public has of the results of the work. By carefully reporting
successes and being candid about problems we can ensure that the work continues"
Helena Lipponen observes.
SASK was established in 1986, following a model which had
already been set up in Sweden some ten years before.
"Only with the establishment of SASK did any serious
professional development co-operation work begin in the Finnish trade union movement"
says Director Hannu Ohvo. He believes that SASK will become a joint solidarity centre for
the entire trade union movement in Finland.
"We are aiming to bring in both of the central
organisations which have so far remained outside of our work, the Confederation of Unions
for Academic Professionals in Finland - Akava and the Finnish Confederation of Salaried
Employees - STTK, together with as many of their member trade unions as possible.
Elsewhere in the Nordic countries the largest trade union organisations have already long
engaged in solidarity work through a joint services agency."
Combining forces would give extra impetus to international
trade union solidarity work and industrial relations, which would be something in the
interests of all parties in Finland and in the target countries. Enlarging the membership
base would also reinforce the financial basis for project work.
An increase in the level of self-financing would also mean
activating the member unions of SASK which have so far not been involved in project work.
The State has facilitated the work of non-governmental
organisations by reducing the self-financing level of the projects which it supports from
25 per cent to 20 per cent. A great deal still depends, however, on how the Finnish
economy develops in future years and on whether decision-makers continue the policy which
has been followed in recent years by cautiously increasing the development co-operation
budget. Ohvo stresses, however, that any enlargement of SASK operations must be
implemented in a controlled manner. During 1997 and the early part of 1998 SASK has made a
thorough analysis of its own operating methods and of the division of labour between its
member organisations and other partners. The division of labour with overseas partners is
also being studied.
"We have come a long way in a short time. There are
currently no pressures for fundamental changes in our policies," says Ohvo.
* * *
Staff of the Trade Union
Solidarity Centre of Finland - SASK
Paasivuorenkatu 2 A, 5th fl., 00530 Helsinki, Finland
tel. 358-9-7740 520
fax 358-9-7740 5215
Heikki Kehälinna, President
heikki.kehalinna@ktv.fi
tel. 358-9-770 3295
Turo Bergman, Vice president
turo.bergman@sak.fi
tel. 358-9-7721 331
Hannu Ohvo, Director
hannu.ohvo@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5220, gsm 040-521 4476
Mirjam Korhonen, Project manager
mirjam.korhonen@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5213
Eila Kämäräinen, Project coordinator
elsa.kamarainen@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5217, gsm 040-521 4479
Helena Lipponen, Officer for information and finance
helena.lipponen@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5211, gsm 040-521 4402
Liisa Mery, Project coordinator
liisa.mery@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5216, gsm 040-521 4478
Kirsi Salminen, Secretary
kirsi.salminen@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 520, 7740 5212
Riitta Vepsäläinen-Limonta, Project assistant
riitta.vepsalainen-limonta@sask.fi
tel. 358-9-7740 5218
Member organisations of
the Trade Union
Solidarity Centre of Finland - SASK
Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions
Automobile and Allied Personnel's Union
Finnish Transport Workers' Union
Hotel and Restaurant Workers' Union
Air Transport Union
Chemical Workers'Union
Caretakers' Union
Trade Union of Municipal Sector KTV
Union of Commercial Employees in Finland
Coastguard Officers' Union
Finnish Metalworkers' Union
Paper Union
Finnish Postal Workers' Union
Wood and Allied Workers' Union
Building Workers' Union
Railwaymen's Union
Central Association of Professional Students in Finland
Finnish Foodstuff Workers' Union
Finnish Seamen's Union
Finnish Musicians' Union
Finnish Social Democratic Journalists' Union
Finnish Electrical Workers' Union
Technical and Special Trades Union TEKERI
Textile and Garment Workers' Union
Officers' Union
National Union of State Employees and Special Services VAL
Joint Organization of State Employees
Finnish Locomotive Men's Union
Finnish Graphical Union
General Union of Journalists
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