Metalworkers' Union in brief
The Finnish Metalworkers' Union - Metalli was founded in 1899 and is the largest union of industrial workers in Finland.
The Finnish technology industry employed altogether 201 500 people in 2005. The Metalworkers' Union organises about 90 % of the blue collar workers working in the metal industry. The total union membership is some 158 000, of which 20 % are women.
All workers in a metal plant can belong to the Metalworkers' Union, including carpenters, painters and cleaners etc. The rules allow union membership also to white-collar workers unless they are in a supervisory position.
The Finnish Metalworkers' Union negotiates collective agreements for ten separate sectors: technology industry (e.g. engineering, shipbuilding, iron and steel industry, electronic industry, car manufacturing), car repair workshops, clerical employees of car retail, telecommunication industry, mining, electricity and power plants, precious metals sector, sheet metal industry, repair works for mechanical forest industry, civilian workers in the Ministry of Defence repair shops.
Main guidelines
The Congress of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union decided 30.05.2012 as a specific item of the agenda upon the main guidelines for the coming congress period. These guidelines compress the decisions made in the different groups of issues and define the major focus matters and goals.
The main guidelines are:
In the defending of members' interests:
The general pay raise in the negotiated wage solutions guarantees a unified wage development and the pay raises by cent improve the real income and purchasing power.
We improve and clarify the rules of agency work and the conditions of employment relations.
When improving bargaining conditions and legislation concerning holidays and annual leaves our goal is to prolong the annual leave without wage loss.
Regulations concerning short absences caused by the employee's or a child's sickness will be improved so that it is sufficient for the employee to make his/her own announcement.
We advocate the right to file a group lawsuit in order to better intervene in the flaws in working conditions.
We call for more resources to be directed to wellbeing at work and the improvement of working conditions.
We avert the attacks against the employment pension system and the additional unemployment benefit days.
We avert the attempts to raise the age limit for retirement.
We follow more closely the operations of Finnish multinational companies abroad.
In the Metalworkers' Union:
We launch an organizing campaign in order to strengthen our work on the shop floor and widen our operation to new work places.
We analyse the organisational state of our local branches and make proposals to change the structure of our branches so that the local branches can better fulfil their basic task.
We obligate the union officials to visit all work places in our bargaining sectors.
In our union training we support commitment to our members, the resources of our persons of trust and the goals of wellbeing at work.
We secure the services to our members and improve them by directing resources according to the members' needs.
We increase the access to easy electronic member services.
We expedite the payment of unemployment benefits.
We utilize the present and new diversified means of communication in order to answer to our members' need.
In the society:
We take strong measures in order to extirpate grey economy in co-operation with the authorities and other players.
We take measures in order to guarantee good operating conditions for the Finnish industry which guarantee the financing of our welfare society.