Trade organisations decided to start a project for establishing a new confederation in Finland. A preparatory meeting for the project was organized in Helsinki today with altogether 73 wage-earner union representatives from all three confederations (SAK, STTK and Akava).
Trade unions involved in the preparation of establishing a new confederation will announce their participation by 10 February. The practical work to set up a new confederation will start after that. The new confederation is intended to start operations during 2016.
The project welcomes all trade organizations including those that are at present not members of the current confederations. The goal of the new confederation is to enhance employees’ and sole traders’ economic and mental well-being and to promote social equality and justice.
The confederation will be politically independent and take over the national and international tasks of the confederations that will be disbanded. The activities of the confederation will be based on democratic representation that takes the needs of all member groups into account. The new central organization shall not deteriorate the independent position of trade unions as a social partner.
Professor Harri Melin at the preparatory meeting made the introductory speech on the future of the labour market system. The strengths, opportunities and challenges of the confederation project were evaluated in the subsequent discussion. The meeting was chaired by the chairman of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Jarkko Eloranta (SAK), the chair of the Union of Insurance Employees in Finland, Liisa Halme (STTK) and the chair of Union of Professional Engineers in Finland, Pertti Porokari (Akava).