Speech by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen at the closing of the Congress of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions

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SPEECH BY PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC TARJA HALONEN AT THE CLOSING OF THE CONGRESS OF THE CENTRAL ORGANIZATION OF FINNISH TRADE



A rapidly changing world constantly puts people's basic values to the test. It is easy to swear in the name of equality, mutual partnership and respect for the environment. But how can we keep these values alive in the face of everyday change? How can we combine what seems right with what is considered reasonable or necessary? I believe that success requires both: Heart and reason.

The internationalization of the economy or globalization has also received attention at this congress during the past days. How can we manage in this competition so that our own bread is ensured and so that we don't need to feel ashamed of our behaviour towards our neighbour - whether this neighbour is near or far away.

I have often said that a nation the size of Finland, with just over five million people, cannot expect to succeed with quantity. It has to succeed with quality or in other words it must simply be better than competitors. This type of requirement places great challenges on every one of us. We must strive for the best possible use of our own abilities. In this way we will of course be in a good position individually, but also together - as a nation.

This message contains nothing new for Finns. Harsh natural conditions have always required harder work on the part of individuals and the ability to cooperate with others in order to survive. What is new is the scale and speed of change. The future is extremely difficult to predict. This also makes us very cautious about the future.

Caution does not mean that we should turn inward, but we should prepare ourselves as well as possible for different kinds of change. The Nordic welfare society has proved an excellent means to combine individual effort with joint responsibility. In the age of globalization this model of the welfare society has proved its strength. Not only does it protect the individual economically and socially in changing circumstances; it also allows effective education for the individual and society.

It is very important for children and young people to receive a good education which will give them a broad range of skills for work and life in general. A strong basic education is also a sturdy foundation for further studies and retraining. It is also economically, socially and humanly right to take care of education for the working population as well.

The birth of companies like Nokia and other modern information technology firms is more likely in a society such as Finland's. Here it has been possible to apply ideas spawned in universities and research centres to business life as quickly as possible. Earlier it was quite up to chance what inventions came to the business world and in what way. Now this is taught and guided by hand. Our possibilities to build on the basis of expertise will continue to grow.

Requirements for expertise are growing not only in the IT sector, but in all of working life. New means are available everywhere. Familiarity with these means is required in more and more places. And even after we retire we will still need this knowledge to keep up with the times.

New expertise is also changing jobs and structures. New professions are being created while others are disappearing. As you have observed, this constantly imposes new challenges on the trade union movement. Protecting the interests of workers and their families requires new forms of cooperation in Finland and abroad. The division into workers and the upper class in the old sense has disappeared. The gap between the haves and the have-nots has widened. The possibilities for a more equal society economically, socially or in terms of age or sex exist, but development in the opposite direction is also possible.

Finland is a democratic country where power is in the hands of the people. The elected political leadership is responsible for many things, but it needs the complex network of civic society to supplement it. The trade union movement is part of this network: It is needed - but it also needs allies.

Finland's accession to the European Union six years ago both improved and complicated our ability to influence decisions. Finns were not looking for a rose garden, but better opportunities to succeed in international competition and the chance to decide along with others on the rules of play. Our citizens and companies are now better-known cooperation partners in more and more countries in Europe and beyond.

The Union is now getting ready for further enlargement. This will bring stability, prosperity and security to Europe and will strengthen Europeans' position globally in the long run. Success requires hard work. The European Union and different countries' governments and officials are working hard so that the applicant countries' economies, democracy and the rule of law can develop sufficiently for membership. But it is in everyone's interests for civic society to be involved, to give new structures the right spirit.

The applicant countries are not the only ones to face challenges. New, more open cooperation also requires respect for laws and agreements in our own country and the other member states. We cannot expect to encourage new members to walk the straight and narrow path if people in the old member states are prepared to circumvent rules in order to gain a short-term advantage. The trade union movement in many respects plays an important role in creating the right social atmosphere.

The Finnish trade union movement has been farsighted and wise. It has created democracy and social equality in our own country. Finnish trade unionists have been commendably active in working for common interests internationally as well. This is a good basis for the future.

People's basic rights are still at issue. I congratulate you on a successful congress and wish you wisdom and strength to implement great ideals in everyday work. As unionists said long ago, "Combine our scattered forces" and we can build the future together.