The UJF has urged that in deciding on the strategy of Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company the body’s administrative council will “constantly ensure that fair working conditions and quality in outsourcing are realised.”

In a statement on the strategy the union points out that Yle must ensure that in procuring productions it must abide by the law on contractors’ obligations and liability and the ground rules laid down in collective agreements. This means that production companies hired by Yle must be bound to the terms of collective agreements. Outsourcing must not an end in itself and outsourcing work by Yle must not be contrived.

The UJF statement also stresses that the decision on Yle’s strategy must not impinge on programme policy and journalistic content. In the reform of the public broadcasting act, the decision on the strategy was given to Yle’s administrative council, which consists of politicians. Before summer 2017, the strategy was decided upon by the Yle board of directors, which includes experts and a Yle staff representative.