The collec­tive message is clear: More cour­ses in English are wanted

A lecture in the Latomo class­room at Murikka Insti­tute has caught the atten­tion of the group of Industrial Union members of foreign background. Many lean forward as hands shoot upward every so often to ask ques­tions and clari­fica­tions. Course instruc­tor Arto Hele­nius steers the conver­sa­tion towards current labour poli­tics just before the after­noon coffee break. The recap of the chan­ges made by the Orpo-Purra govern­ment even mana­ges to elicit a few laughs by their sheer absurdity.

Union News – trai­ning for foreign language members is the latest addi­tion to the growing number of Industrial Union cour­ses aimed towards members of foreign background. Most of the atten­dees have partici­pa­ted in Industrial Union cour­ses before, but Frank Oghe­ne­runo Akpe­deye is one of the newco­mers. Akpe­deye works as a support opera­tor at Teleste Infor­ma­tion Solu­tions in Forssa and has just recently become inte­res­ted in union acti­vi­ties. After moving to Finland in 2010 as a student, Akpe­deye has gradua­ted as a Bache­lor of Engi­nee­ring in supply chain mana­ge­ment from Häme Univer­sity of Applied Sciences (HAMK) and as a Master of Engi­nee­ring in project mana­ge­ment at Vaasa Univer­sity of Applied Sciences (VAMK).

“It’s nice to be here to get more insight on union matters and to meet new people. Gene­rally, it is a good idea to know what the union is about,” Akpe­deye says.

A WARM WELCOME

Vladi­mir Batra­kov and Sergei Unukai­nen both joined the union almost imme­dia­tely after moving to Finland and getting a job. The Esto­nian duo has partici­pa­ted in union cour­ses seve­ral times together.

“The course has had inte­res­ting and impor­tant lessons. The best aspects of this course are the theme of history and unions and the people I get to study with, which makes the group work that much better,” says Unukainen.

“The best parts are gaining new know­ledge and infor­ma­tion, getting help and meeting new people. I partici­pa­ted in an Industrial Union Youth Event some while back and I was the only foreig­ner there. But every­one was so warm and welco­ming. Some common games and acti­vi­ties were in English just because of one guy who didn’t speak that much Finnish, it was heartwar­ming,” Batra­kov recounts.

“That’s the power of inte­gra­tion,” Akpe­deye adds.

Labour rights and union matters haven’t really come up as topics between their respec­tive workplaces, but Unukai­nen takes the time to praise his “oppo­si­tion.”

“My job at Aura­joki Oy is nice. My boss is unders­tan­ding and accepts me leaving for cour­ses with no problems. He unders­tands our right to strike, and I some­ti­mes think he should be on the other side of the fence,” Unukai­nen laughs.

ESSENTIAL IN ORGANISING

The subject matters of the Union News course consist of infor­ma­tion and news about the union. The focus was on the birth and history of the unions in addi­tion to current topics like the current poli­tical landscape, as reques­ted by atten­dees from the previous Rules of working life course.

“The goal for Union News is to have a yearly course with diffe­rent subject matters to keep up with the demand for more,” the Industrial Union bargai­ning specia­list Martti Paavi­lai­nen says.

The need for more cour­ses has been the collec­tive message from the participants.

Paavi­lai­nen was part of the team that put the course toget­her and gave a lecture about the history of the Finnish trade union move­ment. Other major topics of the course inclu­ded company-speci­fic collec­tive agree­ment nego­tia­tions in Finland and Finnish labour market model in light of recent changes.

“It’s impor­tant to have trai­ning that can reach our members in a language they unders­tand. It brings our foreign members toget­her and tells them they are not alone, giving them the courage to become more active. In short, cour­ses aimed towards members of foreign background are essen­tial in orga­ni­sing,” Paavi­lai­nen says.

MORE COURSES AND MORE INTEGRATION

The trai­ning for the day is about to hit the final stretch. Faci­li­ta­tors Deniz Kazar and Henri von Adlerk­rone guide the class on works­hop­ping marke­ting for the Teol­li­suus­lii­ton Hermes ‑applica­tion. The three-day course will conclude the next morning with the presen­ta­tion of group works that have been worked on for the dura­tion of the course. Before hurrying back to the class­room Akpe­deye, Batra­kov and Unukai­nen share nearly the same senti­ment: we want more.

“I’d like to partici­pate in English cour­ses for shop stewards. In gene­ral, I’d like to partici­pate in more cour­ses in English. There are cour­ses in Finnish every week, but seldomly in English,” Unukai­nen says.

“There should also be more campaig­ning for the exis­ting cour­ses, so that more members would become aware of the oppor­tu­nity and would partici­pate,” Akpe­deye says in turn.

Gene­rally, it is a good idea to know what the union is about.

The demand for more has not gone unnoticed.

“The need for more cour­ses has been the collec­tive message from the partici­pants. We need to listen to the insights of our growing number of members of foreign background. This year, we have arran­ged the basic show steward course in English for the first time. We’re hoping that the Union News course will become a recur­ring fixture. These cour­ses are also impor­tant for us, as we get infor­ma­tion and insights from our members that we can then pass forward,” Paavi­lai­nen states.

“A course about union bene­fits and how to use them would be useful. I also think that a mixed course between native Finnish workers and those of foreign background would be a good expe­rience. It could be great for inte­gra­tion, a chance to get to know each other better and gain a better unders­tan­ding of our diffe­rent cultu­res,” Batra­kov adds.

Read the article in Finnish!