Most Project workshop on Integration through work community Trade unions promoting welcoming attitud

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Most Project workshop on Integration through
work communityTrade unions promoting
welcoming attitudes at workplace

• Helena Hämäläinen
• The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions
  SAK
• July 5-6, 2007

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The contents of my presentation

• Trade union movement in Finland SAK, STTK, Akava
• Solidarity work in trade unions, Trade Union
  Solidarity Center SASK
• International work ITUC (ICFTU), ETUC, the
  Nordic Council of Trade Unions NFS
• SAK working group on multicultural issues
• Migrants and / in affiliated unions
• SAK and EU projects Etmo, Info Point in Tallinn,
  Petmo

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Trade union movement in Finland

• At the moment three central organisations
• The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions
  - SAK 21 affiliated unions with 1 043 000
  million members
• The Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees
  STTK, 19 affiliated trade unions represent
  approximately 650 000 members
• AKAVA - the Confederation of Unions for Academic
  Professionals in Finland 31 affiliates with 486
  000 members
• Organization rate in unions in Finland around 75
  of the total work force
• SAK was founded in 1907, 100 years ago STTK in
  1993 and Akava in 1950

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Solidarity work in SAK and affiliated unions
Trade Union Solidarity Center SASK

• SAK with affiliated unions used to have a
  committee called Peace Committee, founded in
  1960s
• solidarity actions in South Africa and with
  Namibian trade unionist in Angola refugee camps,
  helped the refugees from Chile in 1970s (among
  them many trade unionists), yearly peace
  conference in Finland, Baltic Sea peace
  conference etc.
• SASK - the Trade Union Solidarity Center was
  founded in 1986 by SAK and its affiliated. Now
  SAK and STTK are members 30 of their and Akava
  affiliates
• SASK activities are funded by member unions and,
  by the government of Finland and by the European
  Commission.
• A branch and an individual member of trade union
  can support the projects by regularly paying a
  percentage or by being a support member

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Trade union international work SAK, STTK and
Akava - international affiliations

• participate in the work of the International
  Labour Organisation - ILO (Geneva)
• are members of the OECD Trade Union Advisory
  Council - TUAC (Paris)
• members of the International Trade Union
  Confederation - ITUC, former ICFTU (Brussels)
• members of the European Trade Union Confederation
  - ETUC (Brussels)
• maintain a joint office in Brussels the
  Representation of Finnish Trade Unions to the EU
  - FinnUnions (former KEY-Finland
• At Nordic level the Finnish confederations work
  with the Council of Nordic Trade Unions - NFS

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76 Confederations in 35 countries European
Industry federations 60 million members
LANV
ZSSS
SSSH
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Foreigners living in Finland 1980 - 2004
Born abroad
Foreign nationals
Foreign languages
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Foreign nationals living in Finland by their
original continent
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SAK Multicultural working group

• Working group on multicultural issues (
  multicultural wg) was founded after SAK congress
  in 2002
• members from SAK unions Metalworkers, the Trade
  union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL),
  Service Union United (PAM), The Wood and Allied
  Workers Union, Finnish Post and Logistics Union,
  Finnish Transport Workers Union, Construction
  Workers Union, Petmo-project, Tallinn Info Point
  -project - three immigrant members
• the main function is to coordinate the work among
  immigrant members in the affiliated unions

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SAK Multicultural working group...

• represents trade unions in different governmental
  and international bodies in immigration and
  migration questions
• Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations (Ministry of
  Labour)
• Advisory Board for Minority Questions (MOL)
• ETUC working group on migration and inclusion
• NFS working groups, ITUC seminars
• co-operates with immigrant and refugee
  organisations in Finland
• The Finnish Refugee Council (founded in 1965)
• the chairperson from a SAK union Tarja Kantola
• Familia Club

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SAK Multicultural working group...

• Delivers information to affiliations and ordinary
  trade unionists about immigration questions and
  immigrants
• it is important to influence the attitudes of our
  members towards the newcomers in work places and
  in trade unions
• In January 2007 all the trade union
  confederations together with the employer
  organisations arranged six seminars in Finland
  under the theme Migrant workers are welcome to
  Finland

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SAK Multicultural working group

• promotes matters which are important to
  immigrants for the SAK council and board
• five migrant delegates in 2006 SAK congress
• arranges at least once a year a forum or seminar
  for immigrant members and shop stewards from the
  same work place (SAK congress decision in 2006)
• first one in May 2007
• Represents SAK in EU projects concerning
  migration and refugee issues
• MOST, MoniQ (MOL), MOKS (Minä, Olga ja Kemal
  Suomessa/I, Olga and Kemal in Finland) , The
  European Year of Equal Opportunities for All in
  2007 (EU), Mosaiikki. Ymmärräks sää? (Do you
  understand?)

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Migrants and/in unions
The number of migrant members in the SAK unions /
from 8.11 to zero of the union membership,
around 12.000 migrant members alltogether 1.2
of the total membership of SAK
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Migrants and/in unions

• Construction workers union a full day Russian
  speaking functionary dealing with migrant
  question
• migrant shop stewards and industrial safety
  delegates in several unions
• in Metal, PAM and JHL unions special printed
  materials for migrants in several languages and
  in the net
• Willie Essandor (in the photo, right) has become
  development manager on multucultural issues in
  Itella (Finland Post)

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Labour Market Co-operation between Finland and
Estonia INFORMATION OFFICE ON FINNISH WORKING
LIFE (InfoPoint) in TALLINN, Estonia

• Ms Eve Kyntäjä, Project Manager (Helsinki and
  Tallinn)
• Ms Kalev Liibert, Consultant (Tallinn)
• Ms Marje Soon, Consultant (Tallinn)
• Ms Tytti Jäppinen, Project Assistant (Helsinki)

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InfoPoint funding and partners

• InfoPoint was set up by SAK, TU and Estonian
  confederation EAKL as part of a project financed
  by the European Unions INTERREG IIIA programme
  1.8.2002 31.7.2005
• administered by SAK
• InfoPoint has been extended until 31.12.2008
  with financial support from Finnish trade unions
  (SAK and TU)
• European Commission the European Workers
  Mobility Award was received by the SAK Tallinn
  InfoPoint in December 2007

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Tallinn InfoPoint offers information and advice
on

• the Finnish labour market system
• wage levels, taxation, terms and conditions of
  employment, labour protection
• the services provided by trade unions the
  principles of trade unionism in Nordic countries
• how to look for work in Finland
• the sources of more specific information
• arranges seminars and theme days on matters of
  topical concern

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ETMO -project

• European Social Fund, Equal -project, Nov. 2001 -
  April 2004
• Why
• Finland is a new country of immigration, not used
  to immigrants information of Finnish working
  life to immigrants and of different cultures to
  native Finns
• to promote tolerance and to prevent racism and
  xenophobia in work places
• to create new ideas, good practices and materials
  for further use in work places
• to promote employability of immigrants

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Etmo reports (in English)http//www.kio.fi/Resour
ce.phx/project/project-etmo/reports.htx

• Majority Population and Immigrants in the
  Workplace Community Report on the inquiry
  material
• WE DID IT! - good practices developed
• Summary of the Research of Majority Population
  and the Immigrants in the Working Community

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Some results of the Etmo project

• In the participating work places articles of
  migrants in the stuff magazines, ethical rules of
  behaviour, senior workers to help the migrant
  newcomers, multicultural evenings, migrants
  participated in the free time activities, more
  communication among all employees
• Employers attitudes more migrant workers were
  hired, career development improved, training in
  multicultural questions for employers
• Some university studies are using the results of
  ETMO -project
• Lectures/presentations on the results of the
  project

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Some ETMO results

• A training kit with various kinds of material for
  teachers
• intercultural communication in a workplace
  (texttransparencies)
• training material on (Finnish) Equality Act (of
  Feb. 2004) based on Race Equality Directive and
  Employment Equality Directive Equality Plans
  for workplaces (text transparencies)
• Information for migrant workers of Finnish labour
  market systems, labour laws, collective
  agreements, working contracts, how to join a
  union - transparencies for teachers
• DVD/video where four migrants tell about their
  lives in the new home country (I am a Finn
  stories about working life)
• A publication by Pauli Juuti Multiculturalism as
  a Resource in a Working community ETMO Majority
  Population and the Immigrants in the Working
  Community. 13-page summary in English
  http//www.kio.fi/Resource.phx/project/project-etm
  o/reports.htx
• Petmo -project administered by SAK (How to
  initiate into multiculturalism in a working
  place, November 2004 - April 2007)

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How to initiate into multiculturalism in a
working place Petmo, 1.11.2004 - 30.4.2007

• EQUAL - a community initiative program
• 5.1.2 Employability - Combating racism
• Follow-up/contunuation to the Multiculturalism
  as a resource in a working community ETMO project
• The Petmo Project has been administered by the
  Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK
• Diversity permitted -material
• book (cover links), CD-rom, training material

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Thank you for your attention!

• Helena Hämäläinen
• The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions
• email helena.hamalainen_at_sak.fi
• www.sak.fi/english
• Labour market news
• www.labourstart.org (in English)
• www.labourstart.org/fi (in Finnish)