Trade union pressured over Lex Nokia back in 2006

According to information gathered by Helsingin Sanomat, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) presssured the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff (AKAVA) to give its backing to the controversial amendment to the Act on Data Protection of Electronic Communications as early as in 2006.
      The information also indicates that the Finnish mobile phone company Nokia was actively involved in the preparation of the so-called Lex Nokia - also known as the ”snooping law” - right from the beginning.
     
The AKAVA members themselves felt that they were pressured to give their blessing to the new Act by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK) as well.
      The information also shows that they had every reason to feel pressured - even threatened - particularly by EK.
      Reportedly the decision to amend the Act on Data Protection of Electronic Communications had been agreed upon during a lunch that AKAVA members did not attend. The representatives of SAK, STTK, and EK were all present, as was Nokia executive Veli Sundbäck.
      Subsequent meetings relating to the new Act were also attended by AKAVA members. At one of these meetings, a representative of Nokia acted as the secretary.
     
EK and Nokia wanted the amendment to be treated as urgent, but the plan met with resistance from AKAVA among others, and the process was suspended by more than a year.
     
In the fall of 2006, new preparations to enact the controversial Act were started, and an unanimous agreement was reached in the summer of 2007 by a committee involving also the representatives of the trade unions, including AKAVA.
      A decisive reading of the bill is to begin in Parliament on Tuesday.
      Both Nokia and EK have denied all allegations of pressure. Last Friday, Leif Fagernäs, the Director General of EK, commented in his press release that even though certain allegations of pressure have been made public, they have no foundation.
      In an interview with the Finnish financial periodical Talouselämä, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo complained that the company has been put in a completely unreasonable situation, when even a new Act has been named after Nokia.
      Lex Nokia is significant for the mobile phone giant. However, it is also important for all those thousands of engineers who are on Nokia’s payroll.
      On Sunday, Helsingin Sanomat could not reach any of those EK representatives who had taken part in the preparations of the controversial bill known as Lex Nokia.
      The bill would amend legislation on the confidentiality of electronic communications, and would give employers the right to access information on senders and recipients of employee e-mail, if they suspect that corporate secrets are being leaked.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  SDP leader wants government to withdraw Lex Nokia (16.2.2009)
  NBI rejects Lex Nokia (11.2.2009)
  Legal experts say “Lex Nokia” violates constitution (20.11.2008)
  ”Lex Nokia” gets blessing from Constitutional Law Committee (14.11.2008)

Links:
  The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK)
  The Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland