The main job of the union is to improve the financial and professional situation.
Freedom of speech is the foundation of a democratic society. Good journalistic practice is based on the public’s right to have access to facts and opinions.
The UJF is an independent trade union that negotiates collective bargaining agreements. It works to further the financial, social and professional standing of its members, both salaried and freelancers.
The union’s members include people who are employees or freelance journalists and who work for the press, broadcasting, publishing and online media.
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The UJF has warned that the impact of the planned cuts to public broadcaster Yle and other areas of the media sector will harm Finland’s overall security and security of supply.
“Modern wars often begin with the disruption of information. Can Finland afford to undermine its own security infrastructure by weakening the media’s operating conditions?” asked Petri Savolainen, the UJF’s Advocacy Director, at the spring meeting of the UJF Council.
“A nationwide, multi-voiced and journalistic media environment is the best resistance against information operations of states like Russia. The planned cuts will lead to a real impoverishment of the media sector”.
The media need support, not cuts. Yet some parties are calling for a weakening of the conditions for journalistic work. The impoverishment of the media field threatens Finland’s overall security and democracy.
The UJF stresses that cutting Yle’s funding will not increase government revenue, but will reduce public access to information.
Throughout the country, hundreds of jobs have been lost in the sector, and several hundred journalists are again facing redundancy. Other Nordic countries are much more supportive of the media than Finland because they see support for the media as support for democracy.
The media must also be able to act in a crisis situation, so we need to safeguard its ability to act now. If information is cut, the truth will be the first casualty.