The voice of Finnish employees in Brussels from the beginning of EU membership

The Finnish trade union representation has been based in Brussels since 1995. FinUnions celebrated its anniversary in 2020, when it was 25 years since the office was founded. But the EU integration of employees began much earlier. This year FinUnions is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

In Brussels defending wage-earners

You can read FinUnions’ history book written by Seppo Tamminen, a Finnish reasearcher, in Finnish online. We also have the pleasure of publishing a summary in English prepared by Kari Tapiola, former Deputy Director-General of the ILO, who as International Affairs Director of SAK participated in the process from 1988 to 1996. The summary is found in English here.

Blog Series “FinUnions 30 Years”

The texts are part of a blog series celebrating both Finland’s and FinUnions’ 30-year journey in the European Union and in Brussels. In the blog entries, former directors of FinUnions and the office’s stakeholders share their experiences of working in Brussels and cooperating on an EU-level.

Heikki Pohja: The Early Days of the Finnish Trade Unions’ European Advocacy

Knut Arne Sanden: From fellow candidates for EU membership to trade union neighbors in Brussels

Luc Triangle: The ITUC and FinUnions: A shared global trade union vision

Olli Rehn: Finland has gained three decades of security, stability, and prosperity

Ari Åberg: The Trade Union Movement Is Needed Now More Than Ever

A long tradition of EU cooperation

EU co-operation between wage earners began in the early 1990s, when Finland began negotiations on EU membership. At that time, central organizations of trade unions and several trade unions were already themselves involved in European labour organizations.

The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK had been a member of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) since the 1970s. STTK joined the ETUC in the early 1990s.

At the time, two important guidelines were drawn up in the central organizations: First, it was found that EU lobbying required close cooperation from all organizations. Secondly, it was decided to support Finland’s goal to seek EU membership. In order to promote these two main objectives, a joint EU lobbying office was set up. It initially operated in Finland for a few years, until the unit moved to Brussels in 1995 under the wings of an EU membership.