Mikko Mäenpää, chairman of the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK), is not warming to calls for the merger of the STTK and the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK). Matti Huutola, who will take up the post of vice chairman of the SAK at the beginning of next month, called for such a merger in Monday’s Helsingin Sanomat.
Commenting on the proposal, Mäenpää wondered if the SAK was worried about its own future.
Instead of a merger, Mäenpää suggests greater cooperation among the trade union confederations. He also called for common goals for the upcoming round of incomes talks.
Mäenpää insists that the STTK is not at all afraid of being swallowed up by the larger SAK.
"In terms of training and professionalism, our unions do not feel that they are so close to the SAK unions that they would want to merge. It could be that some unions also have political prejudices concerning the SAK."
He staunchly denies that the white-collar workers of the STTK would feel in any way superior to the SAK’s mainly blue-collar rank-and-file.
Mäenpää feels that a merger would only be possible if there were a strong will expressed at work-places for such a move. "I do not feel that there is any such will among the rank-and-file of the STTK."
Mäenpää’s views do not represent those of the whole STTK. Last autumn a merger with the SAK was proposed by Ilkka Joenpalo, chairman of the Union of Salaried Employees, the second-largest affiliate union of the STTK.
