Salla Nazarenko has been appointed as the UJF’s International Affairs Specialist at the Journalists’ Union. She will take up the post at the end of August. Juha Rekola, who has held the post until now, will retire during the autumn. Salla will be responsible for international work and union members’ international services. Her work willRead More
The highest decision-making body of the UJF, the Council, met remotely for its spring session from 20 to 21 May 2021. The meeting dealt with matters ranging from the rules of teleworking to government support for the media, EU copyright rules, occupational health for freelancers, the work of the Mediakunta cooperative, solidarity with journalists inRead More
The Nordic countries top the global Press Freedom Index published 20 April by Reporters Without Borders. However, press freedom has deteriorated around the world, particularly in Europe. Only 12 European countries can claim to offer a favourable environment for journalism, fewer than ever before. Germany, for example, dropped from the top group because of repeatedRead More
The UJF premiered, 23 March, a documentary programme on the history of the union to mark the hundredth anniversary of the creation of the journalists union and held a discussion attended virtually by some 350 union members. The programme was made for the union by Gimmeyawallet Productions. The documentary, a 13-minute fast paced overview ofRead More
The Union of Journalists in Finland has appealed to the Finnish government to exert pressure on Belarus to release imprisoned journalists and withdraw criminal charges against journalists. The union is also concerned about cases of persecution, torture and ill-treatment taking place in Belarus. The UJF has sent the appeal to Prime Minister Sanna Marin andRead More
The Union of Journalists has voiced clear support for the European Commission’s plans to develop the collective bargaining right of self-employed workers. The union issued a response to the EU initaitive in early February that stresses the need to revamp EU legislation to ensure that collective bargain rights are extended to self-employed people, which inRead More
The UJF has strongly condemned the concerted attack on 16 February by Belarusian security forces on a number of the country’s journalists and journalists’ organisations. State security officials pretending to be police officers, swooped on the home of Andrei Bastunets, the chair of the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) and arrested him. BAJ press secretaryRead More
The Council for Mass Media, the self-regulatory media watchdog, has elected UJF president Hanne Aho as the new board chair of its support association. The support association is a registered NGO that administers the CMM’s affairs and selects its chair and members. The election and the appointment of other board members of the support associationRead More
The UJF has expressed concern at the worsening situation in Belarus and the treatment of journalists trying to carry out their work. The police have violently put down protests that erupted following the presidential elections. Violence has also been used in some places specifically to stop the free flow of information. At least 25 journalistsRead More
The UJF and Akava Special Branches last week accepted the conciliation proposal of the National Conciliator, narrowly averting strike action by self-employed, or freelance, translators in the AV translation sector, scheduled for 15-16 February.