A Social Movement of the Mature State of Post-industrial Society? The Internal Division of the Finnish trade union movement in the 1990s

The past two decades have seen a significant shift in the industrial relations climate throughout Europe. More widespread use of individual contracts and the proliferation of non-standard forms of employment – in particular fixed-term and temporary contracts – have led many commentators to question whether or not loyalty to trade unions and collectivism in general is in serious decline. The workforce in Finland has experienced particularly profound changes over the past decade, due to the economic collapse of the early 1990s which saw unemployment levels soar to over 18 per cent. The purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges of individualisation to the Finnish workforce's attitude to trade unions and collective action, on the basis of questionnaires sent to trade union members. The data collected was supplied by responses from members of Finland's three main trade union confederations

Collectivism · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Individualism · International trade · Loyalty · Movement (music · Political science · State (computer science · Trade union · Unemployment · Workforce · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Industrial Relations