News

A new research report on ICT work in Finland was released by the Union for Salaried Employees, TU.



ICT industry workers are treated poorly in comparison with workers in other industries in Finland. Call centres workers experience some of the worst conditions.



Call centres are continuously transferred from one place to another, decreasing stability and job security for workers and quality of services for clients. Workers in ICT experience are three times more likely to fear losing their job than the average worker.



Management expectations for performance are too high and do not acknowledge the amount of work ICT employees are required to do in a short amount of time.



Older and more experienced employees are sacked and replaced by lower paid people newly entering the industry.



Poor treatment leads to high instances of illness amongst ICT workers, who typically take 15 days of sick leave per year, compared to the average of 10. Worse still, due to lack of sick leave entitlements, temporary workers in the ICT industry say that they often attend work when they are ill.



Arto Heikkilä, the director of TU's ICT industry sector, says that the research results are not a surprise. Heikkilä is critical of the harsh management style used by many employers, for example, regularly reporting publicly the names of the poorest performing employees.



This research was based on a survey conducted in February and April 2009 of TU's rank and file members. In total around 30,000 workers participated in the survey.