STTK in English

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STTK in English
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Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees, STTK

• Was founded in 1946
• One of three Confederations in Finland (others
  are SAK and AKAVA)
• 640 000 members in 19 affiliated unions
• Members are working in the public sector, in
  private industry and in the private service
  sector

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About STTK .

• Nearly 70 of members are women
• The mean average age is 46.4 years
• Average salary is 2,360 euros per month
• Typical member groups are nurses and practical
  nurses, technical engineers, police officers,
  secretaries, salesmen

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STTK Goals

• Decent salaries
• Job satisfaction
• Time for leisure activities

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Decent Salaries

• Balanced economic development
• Fair treatment for all employee groups
• Unjustified pay differentials between women and
  men must be eliminated
• Everyone must be aware of the basis for their pay

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Job satisfaction

• The Personnel must have an opportunity to
  influence decisions affecting themselves and
  their own work
• Employers must support training and occupational
  development
• Bosses should be fair, supportive and encouraging

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Time for living

• More flexible working time solutions based also
  on employees needs
• Working time accounts or banks
• Fathers should be encouraged to use their family
  leave

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Finnish Labour MarketWell organized, aiming at
consensus

• High union membership among employees and
  employers
• Bipartite and tripartite co-operation
• - principle of common obligation covering
  collective agreements
• - influencing legislation

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Finnish SocietyHomogenous, stable, safe

• 5.3 million inhabitants, sparsely populated
• Salary differentials small, but growing
• Progressive taxation, financial aid based on
  incomes
• Well organized society, low levels of corruption
• Both men and women work outside the home
• Gender equality relatively good, but income gaps
  exist

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Labour Market Mechanism How to negotiate and
agree

• About 70 unions and three Confederations
• SAK for so-called blue collar workers
• (about one million members)
• STTK for salaried employees
• (about 640 000 members)
• AKAVA for academic employees
• (about 450 000 members).
• The employer side has one confederation in the
  private sector, two in the public sector and one
  in the municipal sector.

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Union Wide Agreements

• Employee and Employer Associations negotiate
  union wide agreements
• - covering all members and non-members working
  in the branch
• - for example all the bank employees are covered
  by one agreement
• Besides that, local agreements are possible if
  both sides agree
• Quite often union wide agreements are based on
  the National Incomes Policy Agreement (TUPO)
• - Central organizations negotiate frameworks for
  salary increases and qualitative benefits
• - The Government may support the agreement
  through tax- related or socio-political measures.

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Centralized Negotiations

• The centralized way of negotiating has proved to
  be a successful model in order to increase
  stability and purchasing power.
• It does not leave space for solving specific
  problems, however.
• Every now and then TUPO frameworks are left
  aside and unions negotiate by themselves only.

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Some examples of results of TUPO agreements

• Improvements in maternity and paternity leave
• Right to childrens daycare for everyone
• Unemployment benefits
• Pension security
• Shortened working time
• Promoting equality by special programmes and
  special salary increases for women
• The TUPO Agreements were important tools in
  getting through the recession of the 1990s.

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In case of disputes

• First step for solving a dispute is the local
  level
• - shop steward and the union if needed
• Next step takes place at association level
• Final step is the Labour Court
• National Conciliator in case of difficult issues

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STTK as part of the International Trade Union
Movement

• Co-operation and networking have become more
  and more important in an integrated Europe and
  globalized world. Trade unions work across the
  borders both at union and confederation level.

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STTK participates in the work of the following
International Organizations

• Council of Nordic Trade Unions, NFS
• Baltic Sea Trade Union Network BASTUN
• European Trade Union Confederation ETUC
• Council of European Professional and Managerial
  Staff EUROCADRES
• Pan-European Regional Council PERC
• Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, TUAC
• International Trade Union Confederation ITUC

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Nordic Co-operation

• Nordic trade unions have a long tradition of
  co-operation based on similar social structures
  and ways of organizing. The enlargement of the EU
  has enhanced cooperation with the new
  EU-countries around the Baltic Sea.

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The Council of Nordic Trade Unions NFS 15
Confederations in the five Nordic countries and
Greenland

• Three pillars
• Coordinating work
• 1. in the ETUC,
• 2. in the Baltic Sea Trade Union Network and
• 3. between the Nordic countries sharing
  information and lobbying Nordic politicians
• An office with four employees in Stockholm

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Baltic Sea Trade Union Network BASTUN 22
confederations in the countries of the Baltic Sea
Region.

• BASTUN was created in 1999 in order to
• - influence political decision makers within
  the region and
• - implement joint training projects

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BASTUN Baltic Sea Trade Union Network
Finland SAK STTK Akava
Sweden LO TCO SACO
Russia FNPR
Norway LO YS UNIO
Estonia EAKL TALO
Latvia LBAS
Danmark LO FTF AC
Lithuania LPSK LDF SOLIDARUMAS
Poland SOLIDARNOSC OPZZ
Germany DGB
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BASTUN Issues and Tools

• Basic issues on the working list
• - decent working conditions and salaries
• - fair competition for companies no to social
  dumping
• - humane and equal societies
• The tools are
• - influencing the decision makers in the EU, in
  the CBSS and nationally
• - strengthening co-operation in the ETUC, ITUC
  and PERC
• - internal co-operation, projects, seminars

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European Co-operation

• European Trade Union Confederation ETUC
• 81 confederations in 36 countries
• Influencing European legislation and policies
• Social Dialogue

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European Co-operation

• The main channels are
• - Direct representation to the EU institutions
  (Commission, Parliament, Council)
• - European Social Dialogue with the European
  employer organizations.
• Cross-sectoral European frameworks (such as
  part-time work and fixed-term contracts) and
  autonomous agreements (such as stress at work).

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Council of European Professional and Managerial
Staff EUROCADRES

• Five million employees inside the ETUC,
  including AKAVA and STTK
• Participates in the European Social Dialogue
• Working especially with issues like life-long
  learning, equality, mobility and recognition of
  qualifications and diplomas
• Networks and projects

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Influencing EU legislation in Finland

• Confederations have an access to several
  committees in Finnish Ministries.
• These committees are channels to influence
  Finnish decision makers in the EU.
• Confederations have also direct representations
  on the EU, such as the European Economic and
  Social Committee.

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Pan-European Regional Council PERC

• 87 confederations affiliated to the ITUC with 85
  million members, Cooperates closely with the ETUC
• Promoting social dialogue, decent work and the
  European social model across the entire
  continent
• Main issues on the working list
• - Organising
• - European neighbourhood policies
• - Migration

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Global Co-operation

• International Trade Union Confederation ITUC
• 168 million workers in 153 countries and
  territories, 304 national affiliates
• Promoting justice and protecting workers rights

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International Trade Union Confederation ITUC

• The main channels are
• - Solidarity work through campaigns and
  publications, such as eradication of forced and
  child labour
• - Political influence on international
  organizations such as
• - The ILO, the International Monetary Fund, the
  World Bank and the WTO

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TUAC, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD

• 58 national organizations in the 30 OECD member
  countries, 66 million members
• A consultative status in the OECD
• The main working areas are
• - economic and employment policies
• - education and training
• - multinational companies

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STTK participates in the work of the
International Labour Organization ILO

• The only tripartite organization in the UN family
• Employers and workers representatives have an
  equal voice with that of Governments
• Formulates international policies and programmes
  to promote basic human rights, improve working
  and living conditions and enhance employment
  opportunities.
• Creates international labour standards
• Implements technical cooperation projects
• Conducts training, education, research and
  publishing activities