SAK warns of action against law easing dismissal

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) on Monday warned the government that if the planned legal amendment to the Employment Contracts Act aimed at easing the termination process of individual employees is not stopped, it will go for industrial action.

SAK is a confederation of trade unions with about one million members. Its president, Jarkko Eloranta, said every SAK member association is preparing its own action programme, said a press release.

“We still hope that the government will sense the reality about the effect of the so-called dismissal. But if it doesn’t happen, we will start organising activities,” Eloranta told a SAK board meeting.

He said the planned legal amendment will throw employees into an unequal position according to employer’s size, which is unacceptable.

The SAK president urged the government to stop the move immediately.

The planned legal amendment aimed at easing the termination process of individual employees spells the hardest consequences for those sectors where the workforces are mostly made of women.

The proposed bill will relax the conditions for sacking individual workers by businesses employing less than 20 people.

In particular, the amendment will affect most the employees in service and public services sectors where businesses often lack regulations on job termination in their collective agreements.

SAK said almost 70 per cent of those working in the two sectors are women.

If the bill is passed, employees in sectors with male-heavy workforce might manage to cope with the weakened job security, at least until the next round of collective agreement negotiations. On the other hand, the sectors that primarily rely on female labour will immediately feel the pinch of a blighted job security situation.

The government has no real rationale for amending the law, claimed trade union leaders, and there is no research finding indicating that the existing regulations make recruiting people more difficult.

According to trade union leaders, the proposed bill once again shows the inadequacy of the Prime Minister Sipilä’s government in carrying out background check and preparatory work when it comes to making a move for legislation.

The consultation period for the draft bill to amend the Employment Contracts Act ended on August 16 during which the trade union movement in its submission opposed it emphatically.