Reports from the Congress of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union
The Congress is held on 25-28 May in Tampere, Finland.
The General Secretary of the International Metalworkers´ Federation (IMF), Marcello Malentacchi addressed the 20th Congress of the Finnish Metalworkers´ Union and reminded that capitalism has not solved our problems.
Globalisation has been able to go further without anybody monitoring it and he also realised that the multinationals had taken over the power from the politics. According to Marcello Malentacchi the trade union movement should coordinate its negotiation activities and other forms of co-operation.
It could be neccessary to develop a system across borders, and he also mentioned that the employers had the aim to destroy the central negotiation system. On the national level special focus should be on organising and one should above all try to get the young people organised. Merely mergers between unions do not bring any more members.
IMF is aiming at international framework agreements (IFA), where everybody has the same trade uion rights and a realized negotiation right.
The Finnish Metalworkers Union is continuously striving for incomes policy
The primary negotiation goal for the union is an income policy agreement, the Congress outlined on Tuesday.
The Central Organisation of Finnish Employers had just a few days earlier announced that the time for an income policy agreement had definitely passed.
Forming a new industrial trade union
The Finnish Metalworkers' Union is still participating in the project cooperation that aims at the founding of a new industrial trade union.
The congress decided upon this with 300 votes for, 182 against. The new union would consist of six former unions and would start on January 1, 2010. The congress adopted the proposal of the Executive Committee with social democratic votes. The counter proposal was made by the Left Alliance group according to which the union should give up the project now. The definitive position to the new union will be decided later at an extraordinary congress.
Riku Aalto elected President for Metalli
The socialdemocratic group at the Congress, which is in majority, elected at its group meeting the treasurer Riku Aalto as its President candidate.
On 27 May the Congress elected its chief financial officer Riku Aalto to new President for the coming 4 years.
Aalto started his union career at the Saab factory in Nystad and he has worked in the union since 1995.
Newslink (in Swedish).
