Nobody is rich in Finland

At least everyone thinks that there are no wealthy people here. Why is this?

We have come to find that there is one problem: Finland`s greatest natural resource is envy. We envy rich people, we are somehow reluctant to accept good feedback, we don’t live in beautiful houses, we don’t drive supercars and most of all, we don’t tell neighbors how well we are doing.

Truth on the other hand is that we have extremely wealthy and rich people living in Finland. Few of them made their fortune by working, like Anssi Vanjoki, but most of them - well they used to make it out of technology and innovations within. The sad part is that most of the money has been flowing back to technological innovations and R&D. When it should have been going to social innovations or service innovations.

Rovio is on everyone’s lips. Angry Birds is being played by most of the celebrities all the way in the USA and it just keeps growing. What makes Rovio and Angry Birds so special? It is the content created for Apple products. Apple created their products so that it would be as easy as possible to create attractive content for their devices. Rovio did just that, nothing more.

These days you hear these tech-millionaires screaming “We need more Rovio-type of companies in Finland.. forget Nokia” This is where we go wrong. Again. Rovio is a company whose success is based on creating an addictive, well done content for iPhone &and iPad – so actually we don’t need more “Rovio-type of companies”, we need more capital investments to seed-phase social innovations. We still need to focus on creating devices, yes, but we also need to start really focusing on content and service development. When we realize this and we can channel part of our capital investments to fund the social innovations, we will have a better working life - labour-unions (in Finnish: ay-liike) & STTK are happy. Who knows, in this case even the economy might kick in.

We have the knowledge, reputation, infrastructure and capital. All we need is a brave way to channel it and someone to lead the show.

Local economical crises should be prevented

While municipalities have been able to improve the efficiency of their services, at the same time the government has burden new responsibilities for municipal administrations and its worker (in Finnish, toimihenkilö). This has caused the situation that even municipalities are able to reduce their costs by making their services more efficient, their economical or economic (In Finnish talous) situation is getting worst due to these new responsibilities.

Productivity can be raised to the certain level, but that will not bring the solution for the municipal economical crisis. The solution is neither that functions are transferred to another producer. Tax-funded public services are most likely secure the welfare of citizens in different areas equally. Privately produced services should be used only to supplement the already operating services.

The chairman of Jyty, the Finnish federation of public and private sector employees (in Finnish: palkansaaja), has warned that local government are heading in crisis, which will endanger basic welfare services. There will be most probably heavy shutdowns in many locations.

As the government program states, the municipal policy must be guaranteed equal and quality services throughout the country. The government should now break the old role and together with the municipalities find the ways to address gaps in current services and development the existing resources. It will be challenging, but it might be the only way to ensure the services.

Trade union’s view for the new governmental program

According to STTK, one of the three trade union (in Finnish: ay-liike) confederations in Finland, the key priorities of the new government program are related to fiscal sustainability of national economy and instability caused by euro-zone countries.

STTK is happy with the government’s decisions not to tighten the income taxation of salary earnings. It is the right signal in terms of the employment and purchasing power, and correlates with the goals of STTK. Tax solutions related to the capital taxation are justified by the world economical situation.

However, securing the tax income for the government is crucial in order to keep health facilities and other vital municipal services on a high level of quality and comprehensive manner to all citizens. At the same time, more security should be provided to employers working in these fields: that is essential in terms of employment.

The main task of the current government is, according to STTK, to boost the economic growth and employment. Effective actions to lessen youth and long-term unemployment are necessary. Also the resources for active labor market policies must be enabled. Government should take measures to extend working lives, improve young people's attachment to work, and to prevent work related disabilities.

One of the publicly visible actions in governmental program is to campaign against the grey economy (In Finnish talous). STTK will participate on this campaign also. The campaign will be visible in outdoor advertisements, in police cars and on the Internet in the autumn 2012.

Basic unemployment allowance and the labor market will rise by a hundred dollars per month beginning of next year. The increase also reflects in the earnings-related allowances. This is the government’s way to reduce social inequalities, and therefore is fully supported.

According to STTK, the annual savings and corridor negotiations agreed will ensure a sustainable economic policy. The global economy and the development of the European Union require agility in decision-making.

Municipal consolidations from employer’s side

The consolidation of municipalities in Finland is starting to be everyday news. From big to small, every municipality seems to find a reason to join with neighboring municipalities. Mostly the reason is because savings are seen in merging the municipal administrations, but what will happen to the municipality administrative worker (in Finnish, toimihenkilö) during those consolidations?

At 2005, the government of Finland launched the Best Project (Paras-projekti). The aim of the project was to reform the municipal service structure. Consolidations of municipalities were recognized part of this program. The personnel of municipalities agreed on this project and supported it, which granted them the five year protection against dismissal in the case of any consolidation of municipalities.

The Best Project will end in 2012, but obviously consolidations of municipalities will still happen after that. The trade union of municipal workers has argued that it would be even to have the same five year protection against dismissal also in the consolidations happening after the 2012.

As in any occupation, it is crucial that the job security is maintained. Municipal employment issues are negotiated together with employees and employers' organization, and it is essential that the employees (in Finnish: palkansaaja) remain in spite of the so-called new arrangements.

The other subject of negotiations in the moment of consolidation of municipalities is the salary. When two or more municipalities are combined, the salary differences of similar positions in different municipalities might be considerable. In these cases, the combined municipalities must agree on the harmonization of wages, and the harmonization cannot take a very long time. The same applies to differences in personal knowledge-based bonus systems: they should be co-ordinated.

Co-operation needed for the political state in Finland

The traditional political map formed again in last government election in Finland. The new political map can make upcoming negotiations of the employment collective agreement difficult. These negotiations held between the trade unions (in Finnish, ay-liike) and employers’ representative.

Finland's challenges before the elections were the same as now: a growth strategy at the national level must be created, employment increased, social exclusion have to be fight against, solutions to the problems of the state economy (in Finnish, talous) found, reform of taxation completed, public services secured and longer career paths supported. Finland should also have an EU policy that is credible.

In order to fulfill these great challenges, seamless co-operation between government and social organizations is needed. In the changing circumstances all parties should find ways to collaborate. Inability to cooperate eats the trade unions’ influence. However, there are problems between employers 'and employees' organizations, but also among trade unions.

For example STTK's chairman estimates that employers have been able to improve internal coordination better than the wage-earners side. In employees' side, each sector has managed lobbying on its own with no common goal. Cooperation has been much talked about, but little is to be seen.
The ability to cooperate is the only way to succeed in the long run. Otherwise, the employers’ side will set the rules, and trade unions can nothing but agree.

The salary increase agreed for social welfare and health employees in Finland do not occur

TEHY, the Finnish trade union (in Finnish, ay-liike) representing qualified health care professionals, social workers and students of these professions in both the private and the public sectors in Finland, signed an agreement with the employers’ representative on 2007. This contract is to last until the end of the year 2011 and regulates the labor (in Finnish, työelämä) of social and health care areas.

In the agreement, TEHY and employers agreed about the increases to the social and health care staffing salaries, if the amount of employees in the field will decrease. These increases are not to happen, as the amount of social and health care workers has been raising. According to the Statistics Center of Finland, during the years 2006 to 2010 a bit less than 7000 new employment contracts have been signed in social and health care sector. This amount was stated also by the negotiation partners both from employees and employers side.
In the last trade union negotiations, the salary increases of social and health care professionals were analyzed thoroughly and included in the four-year agreement. If the number of employees would have been reduced, salary increases would have occurred for TEHY trade union members of the extra work done with less resources.

The increase of employees in social and health care sectors means that more workforce has been received in units where there has been a need for personnel. According to TEHY, this increase of workforce has a positive effect on their members' working conditions and work well-being. The trade union members of municipal area also received an extra increase for their salary from the other agreements.

TEHY is one of the largest unions in Finland. Established in 1982, it has currently over 150,000 members. TEHY campaigns for improvements and development in the Finnish health and social care and wants to influence in the education and labor force policies. It negotiates and bargains the collective agreements of terms and conditions of work. Representing the interests of its members is the most important task of TEHY.

Fixed term work slows down the equal salary development of women

Fixed term employee contracts have many negative ramifications. They, for example, slow the development of equal wages for women, lead to the uncertainty of a livelihood, and in the worst case scenario affect an employee’s (in Finnish, palkansaaja) physical health.

Problems coming from fixed term employment contracts have the biggest impact on female and young personnel. The threat of unemployment in fixed term contracts is up to seven times higher than in a permanent job, which causes uncertainty. Fixed term employees might not belong to an occupational health system provided by an employer: the trade unions in Finland have proposed that occupational health services for the temporary workers should be protected by law. The base for the long career is created at young age. If in the early stages of employee’s career she or he is ill-treated and is not entitled to health care, it does not bode well for the well-being at work and career.

Fixed term employment contracts are a huge injustice in the public sector that is mainly occupied by women. In the last reform of the Employment Contracts Act there was an aim to improve the position of women in the labor market (in Finnish, työmarkkina). In the law-drafting of the attention was drawn to the criteria of so-called atypical forms of employment relations. Still, in practice, it is relatively easy to use short term contracts against the law. The use of fixed term employment contract is legally permitted only if certain criteria are met. Between permitted and prohibited situations there remains a gray area, where no actual reasons for the use of fixed term contract exist.

Studies have proven that the temporary fixed term contracts are used more in Finland than European average. Trade unions (in Finnish, ay-liike) believe that the employee protection referred in the law is often not realized because of the employee does not dare or does not want to jeopardize the potential work relation with the employer. Periodicity is thus described as a kind of continuous trial period, during which the following precedence is redeemed.

Anything that would equalize the fixed term and permanent work career should be supported in order to provide more healthy and certain situation.

Inflation requires higher wages

According to the committee that follows the development of income and expenses in Finland, the economic growth in Finland will head up over four percent of what it was last year. The committee’s judgment is that there will be growth in economy (in Finnish, talous) during this year and next, even tough there are differences between the different field of industries.

The growth of economy will facilitate from the domestic demands, when the private consumption and investments will grow. The export will grow also, but the fastest growth stage is over already.

The concern of employees is that the wages are not following the growth of expenses. It has been estimated that next year the growth of expenses will be 2,7 percent – and this estimate do not include the option of raising the incident taxes, which would accelerate the elevation of prices even more. More accurate estimate would be that at next year the expenses will raise three percent.

The reason for the inflation now is mainly the raise of energy and food prices. Most of this is due to the international situation, for example the consequence of oil pricing and food getting ore expensive due to the larger consumption level, but some parts of uprising prices come from domestic actions, like the raises of different taxes.

The Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK, one of the three trade union confederations (in Finnish, ay-liike) in Finland, sees that when expenses are getting higher, the wages of employees should follow. At the moment the competitive edge of Finnish companies is high, which gives the possibility to raise wages.

The need of raising wages puts extra pressure for the negation of collective terms of work at autumn 2011. In order to interfere with even bigger regression the wage earning persons (in Finnish, palkansaaja) should be kept with a high purchasing power.

There are estimates also that the unemployment rate in Finland will get smaller during the next two years. However there are lots of long term unemployed, whose possibilities to get back to the working life are getting smaller and smaller. For this group of people actions should be planned actively, especially for those under 30 years of old.

Marketing and communication is the wild west in terms of work

The terms of employment are widely unknown and not so often followed in the field of advertising, media, digital media and marketing research. Almost half of the employers in this field do not follow any kind of collective agreement on terms of work.

New salary recommendations for these marketing and communication field were published in 2011. More than half of employees (in Finnish, palkansaaja) working in advertising agencies, digital media agencies or marketing research organizations in Finland felt, that recommendation of salaries were useful or very useful regarding their position. Already third of the employees took advantage of these recommendations when negotiating about their salaries.

Characteristic for these fields of industries is that only third of the employers knew about the salary recommendations. The same goes with the framework agreement for the terms of work. There are terms of work for the industries that do not have their own collective agreement yet, but they are rarely used in marketing and communications.

The hope of the employees is to get field-specific collective agreements in these industries. This would, however, require more organized actions by employee’s side. At the moment the employees in marketing and communications tend to get interested of their rights and possibilities only when the employer cuts their benefits.

There are no employee representatives in half of the work places – or at least the employees do not know, whether this person exists or not. Still more than 70 percent of employees would like to have employee representative in their work place.

It is not only for the good of employees to get collective agreement for the terms of work, or have employee representative in the work place or follow salary recommendations. The employer who follows collective agreement and salary recommendations does not need to negotiate the salary or the terms of work individually with every employee - and employee representatives are useful for both parties in the moments of change, which are more than common in the fields of advertising agencies, digital media agencies or marketing research.

The recommendation of salaries for the fields of advertising, media research and digital media in Finland were published by the Finnish Federation of Special Service and Clerical Employees ERTO, a labor union (in Finnish, ay-liike) of employees working in expert positions in the private service sector, together with the MaMA Ry, which is the organization for marketing and communications specialist, researchers and specialist of the digital media in 2011.