STTK demands limits on overtime

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In December 1998, the STTK white-collar trade union confederation discussed the issue of excessive overtime working with Finland's industrial safety authorities. According to STTK research, overtime work - paid, unpaid and unregistered - is on the increase, causing a severe health and safety problem and calling for official action.

The Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (Toimihenkilökeskusjärjestö, STTK) produces a regular "employee barometer", examining various work-related issues among its members. The barometer indicates that overtime working - both paid and unpaid - has increased heavily during the 1990s. The increase in unpaid overtime has been particularly drastic: in 1998, about a third of all STTK members say that they are working unpaid overtime, compared with only 20% 10 years previously. Women do nearly as much overtime as men, even though at the same time they largely take care of most of the home and family obligations.

A problem in itself is the practice whereby white-collar workers apparently quite often have to work overtime against their will. According to the relevant legislation, such overtime requires the specific approval of the employee, without any imposition, but some 14% of those STTK members who work overtime state that they do so unwillingly.

According to STTK, the degree of detrimental stress among employees has increased even more than overtime. Especially in the caring professions, the shortage of personnel is experienced as a problem. Further, it is believed that the increased incidence of various stress symptoms has to do with an increase in work pressure (FI9811182F). Also, for a person who works an overlong shift and is tired, the risk of injury at work is two or three times as great as normal.

STTK states that protection against excessive overtime should be based on a maximum amount of overtime and the control of this limit, as well as on the premium pay rate for overtime work. The organisation considers the increase in unpaid and unregistered overtime as a severe problem from the labour protection standpoint. In its view, the problem calls for official action. Officials of the confederation met with district industrial safety superintendents in December 1998 to discuss the problem of excessive overtime work.