Finns give up on plans for merger


Attempts to form a new trade union confederation in Finland, bringing together most of the unions currently divided between three separate confederations, have been abandoned. 


In a formal statement on 1 June, the unions that were still considering a merger said that they were ending their discussions. When the plans for the merger were first announced at the end of 2014, they were supported by two of Finland’s three union confederations, as well as individual unions representing 1.5 million of Finland’s 2.1 million union members. 


However, earlier this year, several unions in the STTK union confederation, Finland’s second largest, representing non-manual workers, withdrew. 


Shortly afterwards, the STTK itself ended its support. The unions involved did, however, confirm the need for closer cooperation.