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20 May, 2001Ilkka Joenpalo will preside the newly-merged Finnish white-collar union, whose membership is made up of 48 per cent women.
FINLAND: Ilkka Joenpalo was unanimously elected as president of the Finnish Union of Salaried Employees -- TU (Toimihenkilöunioni), which was set up on May 18, 2001, in Tampere as a result of the merger of four industrial white-collar unions - the TL, STL, RAL and STAF. With a total of approximately 130,000 members, of whom 48 per cent are women, the TU represents the largest white-collar trade union in Finland.
Joenpalo, 55 years old, served as a member of Parliament from 1987 to 1991, and again from 1995 to 1997, when he became president of the TL. Helena Rissanen has been elected vice-president of the newly-formed union. Commenting on his election, Ilkka Joenpalo said that this was "a task that made one feel humble and proud at the same time."
The TU Congress adopted guidelines for future work focussing on the following issues:
- strengthening cooperation with other white-collar workers' unions in the country;
- in view of the enlargement of the European Union, developing links with white-collar workers in Eastern Europe, in particular the Baltic states and Poland;
- promoting equality in the world of work and at the workplace with regard to wages, gender and job opportunities;
- improving services to members, especially in the field of training, lifelong learning and skills development.
Joenpalo, 55 years old, served as a member of Parliament from 1987 to 1991, and again from 1995 to 1997, when he became president of the TL. Helena Rissanen has been elected vice-president of the newly-formed union. Commenting on his election, Ilkka Joenpalo said that this was "a task that made one feel humble and proud at the same time."
The TU Congress adopted guidelines for future work focussing on the following issues:
- strengthening cooperation with other white-collar workers' unions in the country;
- in view of the enlargement of the European Union, developing links with white-collar workers in Eastern Europe, in particular the Baltic states and Poland;
- promoting equality in the world of work and at the workplace with regard to wages, gender and job opportunities;
- improving services to members, especially in the field of training, lifelong learning and skills development.