SAK leader calls for strike law reforms and fairer labour market in next government term

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) is urging the next government to restore balance to labour market relations, reform strike laws, and address what it calls “forced entrepreneurship,” according to SAK chair Jarkko Eloranta in an interview with public broadcaster Yle.

Eloranta warned against hasty decisions on pension reforms, stressing that major fiscal adjustments could spill over into labour negotiations, potentially pressuring working hours and leave entitlements. He outlined three key priorities for SAK: rebalancing power between employers and employees, improving employment rates, and cracking down on labour market crimes.

The union leader criticised the current government’s policies for increasing economic uncertainty, which he said had stifled consumer spending and driven up unemployment. SAK is calling for the restoration of social security safeguards and child benefit increases, alongside active employment policies—particularly for youth unemployment. While Eloranta welcomed the government’s recent €30 million allocation for youth employment vouchers, he stressed that far greater investment is needed.

Demands for transparency in mediation and strike law changes

Eloranta acknowledged waning trust in Finland’s national conciliation system, which SAK argues has been undermined by recent legal changes favouring export-driven wage models. The union demands clearer rules for mediators, greater transparency in negotiations, and reliance on independent data to resolve disputes—citing Sweden’s model as a potential blueprint.

“It helps no one if we end up fighting over what a single textual change in a collective agreement actually costs,” Eloranta said.

On strike laws, SAK proposes equalising fines for breaches of industrial peace, scrapping a controversial €200 personal fine for individual workers, and permitting localised strikes during workplace-level bargaining. Currently, Eloranta argued, employers can unilaterally impose wage terms because employees lack the right to strike over local agreements.

“Wage increases often end up at the bottom of the priority list, or employers distribute them one-sidedly, because workers have no way to apply pressure,” he explained.

Tax hikes over austerity to fund defence and public services

With Finland’s next government facing €8–11 billion in fiscal adjustments—excluding the Left Alliance, all major parties have backed a “debt brake”—Eloranta ruled out SAK drafting a detailed savings plan. Instead, the union proposes tax reforms, including a wealth tax to fund rising defence costs, tighter dividend taxation for unlisted companies, and reversing recent cuts to top marginal income tax rates and corporate taxes.

“We opposed the government’s reduction of the highest marginal tax rates, so reversing that would be entirely justified now. The same goes for the planned corporate tax cut,” Eloranta said.

He acknowledged that looming austerity measures would test the public sector’s ability to pay wages, potentially complicating upcoming wage negotiations. Workers, he suggested, should prepare for tough talks ahead.

SAK also called for stricter legal definitions to curb “fake and forced entrepreneurship,” where workers are misclassified as self-employed to avoid labour protections.