Finland: Jarkko Eloranta re-elected SAK President

NordenBladet – Jarkko Eloranta was elected the President of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) again. The Delegates of the organization at its Council held on Tuesday anonymously re-elected Eloranta as the President for the second term, said a SAK press release on Thursday.

In his speech to the Delegate Council Eloranta voiced concern about the future of the Finnish labour market model which is based on negotiations and contracts.

He pointed out that the employers’ federation EK has tried for many years to undermine the range of contracts between labour market parties, like discontinuing the national labour market pacts, terminating the labour market federations’ joint agreements and now a determination to end the pay-related unemployment fund system.

“Now, we have to ask ourselves is what is the actual agenda of the employers”, Eloranta said.

“The main issues that are left up for joint cooperation are the collective agreements and the labour pension system. And we certainly have to ask the question if the employers are not already sowing seeds for the future,” he added.

Jarkko Eloranta has been SAK President since 2016 and the new term will last until 2024. Before SAK he was the president of JHL, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors since 2011.

The council also elected Katja Syvärinen as the new Vice President unanimously.

Her predecessor Matti Huutola will retire. Syvärinen has been a member of Parliament 1999–2003.

SAK is a confederation of 17 trade unions in industry, the public sector, transport, private services and culture. At the beginning of 2020 these unions had a total of 880,574 members. SAK was established in Tampere in the year 1907.