2/2008

Co-operation within undertakings –
a mutual concern

Most governmental offices and institutions, including universities, state in their strategies that they practise good, open and supportive personnel policies. In addition, the Ministry of Education states in its yearly report on operations and budget proposal that the universities aim at a good personnel policy, which increases competitive ability.

The purpose of co-operation within undertakings is to provide personnel with an opportunity to influence the preparation of decision-making concerning personnel, to improve the functionality of workplace and supply personnel with information on issues and actions under planning. However, repeatedly it is evident that obligations of co-operation within undertakings are not upheld. Alarmingly often personnel will read about changes and plans concerning themselves in local papers without any preliminary warning. What could be the reason for this? How could situations like this to be avoided?

I would like to believe that keeping information secret is intentional only in a few exceptional cases. However, often the lack of experience of those planning change has an impact on the management of the process. The process has not been planned properly and co-ordination of implementation is insufficient. Collecting personnel’s views at different stages of the process should be scheduled right from the beginning. Negligence of co-operation within undertakings appears to be intentional when the only formal procedure of co-operation within undertakings is carried out repeatedly or even as a rule so close to the actual decision making that proposals for final decisions have been made and distributed to the decision makers already.

Hand on heart – is there any way anybody could claim that the spirit and letter of the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings
is fulfilled in cases like this? The procedure of co-operation within undertakings is to be carried out during a phase when there is still a possibility to influence the final decisions. Indeed, there are only very few secrets – and they are mainly found in completely different spheres of operations than in those belonging to the Ministry of Education.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer and co-operation

Kerttu Pellinen
Chairman of the Association of the
Finnish University and Research
Establishment Staff (YHL)