6 June, 2013In the past few months, in March and April 2013, the Finnish union TEK has been campaigning very innovatively against unpaid overtime.
The campaign was run extensively in the social media, print media, union magazines and newspapers and advertisements in addition to buttons, flyers, mugs and such products. Advertisements were run frequently on the Finnish airline because many executives and managers are forced to travel on their own time and give up Sundays and evenings.
The campaign was a huge success on the union’s website, with a number of visitors never seen before. Members became very active on this issue.
Short videos can be seen on you tube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNTcD3IjJak – in Finnish but self-explanatory. Actually the point is that if the 8 is tumbled, then it turns into infinity.
The objective of the campaign was to create the members’ awareness for the negotiations that will start in September beginning in the metal and technological industries. The message is that people should not work more than eight hours a day, which was the most traditional demand of the labor movement more than 100 years ago. Or if it is necessary to work more than eight hours, then they should be paid. Moreover unpaid overtime is part of the black economy. Finnish labor law is strict, but there are loopholes that the employers are taking advantage of.
This and other issues of importance to non-manual workers were discussed at the IndustriALL Europe white-collar special working party on 4 June 2013 in Brussels.