Organisation among workers

In Finland, the share of organised workers is fairly high compared to many European countries. Some 75 per cent of workers belong to a trade union.

The legislation ensures for both the employers and employees the right to belong to an association or take part in their work. A worker may or may not belong to a professional organisation. A contract violating the freedom of association is void.

Discrimination against workers based on such as membership in a professional organisation, nationality or origin is prohibited during an employment relationship, in connection with recruitment and when ending an employment relationship. Discrimination at work is punishable by law.

Status of collective agreements

Different countries have different ways of agreeing on the benefits and duties of the employees. In Finland, the collective agreements negotiated by the labour market organisations play a significant role as regards the minimum working conditions of the employees.  Collective agreements contain provisions on such as wages and working hours.

For example: The working conditions of teachers are agreed on in a collective agreement between The Trade Union of Education and the Local Authority Employers. The same agreement is valid in all the schools in Finland, eliminating the need for separate negotiations on the working conditions in each school.

Employee associations

You can find the different trade unions and their contact information through employee associations. Links to the web pages of Finnish trade unions are on the right. The pages contain general descriptions of organisation of workers and terms of employment. Information is available in English, Russian, Estonian and other languages.

• The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions SAK
  A total of 26 trade unions are affiliated to the SAK; the members include workers such as sales assistants and joiners.
• The Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees STTK
  A total of 20 trade unions are affiliated to the STTK; the members include salaried employees such as nurses and supervisors.
• The Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals in Finland AKAVA
  The AKAVA includes 31 trade unions as its affiliates; the members work in academic professions, for example as teachers and doctors.

Employers’ organisations

Employers’ confederations and their member associations, local authority employers and the Government as employer, as well as The Confederation of Finnish Industries can be found through the links to the right.

• The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK
  The EK is a central organisation of the private sector with 44 affiliate associations and some 16,000 companies as its members.
• The Federation of Finnish Enterprises (SY)
  The SY is the central organisation of small and medium enterprises involved in company, industrial and employee politics. It has 90,000 affiliate companies, some 43,000 of which are employers. SY does not take part in collective bargaining.
• The Local Authority Employers KT
  The KT supervises the interests of municipalities and municipal federations at the labour market. Some 40 municipalities and 210 municipal federations are within the scope of the municipal sector agreements.
• The State Employer's Office VTML
  The VTML concludes collective agreements for employees and civil servants employed by the state.
• The Church Employer's Office KiT
  The KiT supervises the interests of the Evangelic Lutheran church, congregations and congregational federations as an employee in labour market matters.