Press releases

The competitive strength of services is also crucial to the strengthening of employment

The decisions of the government’s budget session are not sufficient for resolving employment problems, and the tax decisions are also still inadequate. The Finnish Commerce Federation calls for the government to take the service sector and competitive strength of commerce into consideration alongside other sectors so that the wheels of the economy can be set in motion.

Pro’s unlawful surprise strikes continue to hammer Suomen Kotidata – the industrial peace system is not working

The strike that began today clearly shows that the Kotidata case concerns Trade Union Pro’s political aim to pressure Kotidata into replacing the Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector with the Collective Agreement for the ICT Sector, which is not applicable to the company, and not unresolved employment relationship problems. The smear campaign is based on unfounded allegations and has continued for a long time, and it is threatening the company’s operations and jobs. The serial strikes underline that the Finnish industrial peace system is not working.

The commerce sector’s greetings to the government budget session: Supporting the competitive strength and environmental work of the commerce sector through reduced electricity tax

The commerce sector in Finland is struggling with the increasingly tough international competition. In its budget session, the government must consider all means to support companies and work. Gradually reducing the electricity tax rate applied to commerce to the same level applied to industry would significantly improve the international cost-competitiveness of the commerce sector. The electrification of commercial processes is one of the key actions as the sector strives to achieve carbon neutrality, so the reduction of electricity tax is also a key factor in the environmental work in the sector.

The Russian e-commerce market is growing and becoming international – the coronavirus pandemic is speeding up development

Despite its fairly weak purchasing power, Russia is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, which is still developing and maturing. The popularity of digital shopping has increased rapidly in recent years, and the coronavirus pandemic has spurred the development of payment methods and logistics. Russian consumers are still different from Nordic consumers in many ways, and reviews by peers in particular are important to them when making purchase decisions. Even though China dominates cross-border digital shopping, purchases from other countries are becoming more common. Russian market platforms can also offer new growth opportunities for Finnish online stores.

An expected decision from the Labour Court: Suomen Kotidata can continue to follow the Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector

The Finnish Commerce Federation is satisfied with the Labour Court’s decision according to which Suomen Kotidata can continue to follow the Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector. The Finnish Commerce Federation considers the pressure and strikes from Trade Union Pro during the labour court process as a serious breach of industrial peace and troublemaking that demonstrates a disregard for the law and the rules of working life. Now, after the decision of the Labour Court, industrial peace will hopefully be restored at the company and it can return to normal.

The Finnish Commerce Federation has been reconciliating Trade Union Pro’s strike that threatens Suomen Kotidata – calling for patience to resolve the matter

This week, the Finnish Commerce Federation has been reconciliating the labour dispute in Suomen Kotidata Oy, a member company. The dispute concerns the collective agreement applied in the company. The Finnish Commerce Federation wishes to ensure that the Collective Agreement for the Commercial Sector can be put into effect promptly and impartially by a decision of the Labour Court in accordance with our legal system. The Finnish Commerce Federation hopes that Trade Union Pro will observe industrial peace for the duration of the investigation.

Retail trade grows while parts of specialty goods trade were hit hard by the coronavirus – structural reforms bring more jobs to the branch

The coronavirus crisis gave a record-high boost to the sales of electronics, hardware and daily consumer goods in places, but many branches of the specialty goods trade suffered. Simultaneously, the loss of retail trade jobs has accelerated. The potential second wave of the coronavirus towards the end of the year could cut the predicted 2.5 per cent growth in retail business in half and speed up the loss of jobs. Bold and comprehensive structural reforms are called for to eliminate the incentive traps tormenting the commerce sector.