Articles containing the keyword 'palkat'

The state of Finland had to intervene in the forest wages after the wages had dropped very low during depression in 1932-33. Even able-bodied workers were forced to resort to communal poor aid. Therefore, the Ministry of Communications and Public Works imposed in winter 1932-33 a study on the level of forest wages. Based on the investigations it was decided to develop control and guidance of forest and floating wages. A committee was appointed to follow the development of forest wages and to promote the formation of the wages on a reasonable level.
The country was divided into 14 wage districts, and for each district was confirmed an own norm of wages in accordance with the costs of living in the area. Inspectors controlled the wages primarily in such work places that were complaind of. Consequently, the earnings increased yearly in the 1930s.
During the Second World War, the main objective of economic policy of the government of Finland was to prevent inflation. The regulation of wages strived to compensate workers for the war-time rise in the cost of living. The Econimic Powers Act issued in 1941 was the first legislation that concerned regulation of wages. The Wages Commission prepared from the winter 1942 onward the wage tables per unit of forest works for employers. During the war, the employers were prepared to pay higher wages than the wage authorities considered possible.
Right after the war the main concern of wage control was that because of labour shortage forest and floating wages rose too high. From the end of 1948 onward, however, the principal task was to prevent paying of too low wages. Regulation did not succeed in preventing inflatory rise in wages in postwar conditions, and it was necessary to rise wages continually.

The Union of the Finnish Forest and Floating Workers was founded in 1946, and it concluded a collection agreement with the Employers’ Association of the Finnish Woodworking Industries in 1947. After 1949 the forest workers were represented in the Central League of Finnis Trade Unions (SAK). The regulation of wages ended in 1955, and after that the level of wages were negotiated by the labour market organizations.

The article includes a summary in English.

• Hellén, E-mail: eh@mm.unknown
• Blåfield, E-mail: gb@mm.unknown
• Havukkala, E-mail: mh@mm.unknown
• Sajama, E-mail: os@mm.unknown

In Finland, the wage norms of forest wages have been defined by the government since 1935. However, no official tariffs have been drawn for mechanical bundling in water for floating in bundles. The aim of the investigation was to find out the correlation between the bundling result and the size of logs to be bundled, and how it affects the differences observed in earnings between the different types of devices used in the work. The aim is a more equal bundling tariff in cases where the log size is not the variable. The investigation was based mainly on diaries of bunders of Enso-Gutzeit Oy.

A tariff was formulated based on the results of the investigation. A unit tariff was obtained for bundling of timber differing in size by dividing the earnings of bundling an average timber by the unit number of logs differing in size from the average and bundled in a corresponding period. The tariff was not able to produce even earnings on all bunching machines, but a tariff that takes account log size may be recommended when the aim is an equal wage payment.

The article includes a summary in English.

• Roitto, E-mail: yr@mm.unknown

Silva Fennica issue 52 includes presentations held in professional development courses, arranged for foresters working in public administration in 1938. The presentations focus on practical issues in forest management and administration, especially in regional level. The education was arranged by Forest Service. 

This presentation describes the principles of National Pensions Act, passed in 1937, and how it is applied in withholding of salary. 

• Arola, E-mail: va@mm.unknown

The wage problems of forest workers were first studied in 1931-1932, when the depression compelled the enforcement of a wage control system in forestry, and thus produced statistics on the earnings of forest workers. When the wage controls were introduced in 1934, it was necessary to determine wage norms on which to base the assessment on working results.

Three different norms were defined. The norm of daily earnings means the amount an adult, able-bodied, skilled forest worker should be able to earn in an 8-hour day at piece work. The norm of daily salary is the amount of a forest worker should be able to earn in an 8-hour day at time rates, and the wage norm per hour for floating workers is the amount a floating worker should receive per hour. The wages are controlled by special inspectors, and statistics on wages are collected by reports of the inspectors.

The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.

The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Hellén, E-mail: eh@mm.unknown

The investigation studies the development of a logger’s daily earnings, a sawmill worker’s hourly earnings, saw timber stumpage prices and saw timber export prices, expressed in marks in Finland in 1913-1953, concentrating upon the trends of real value.

Although worker’s earnings in forestry and sawmilling have developed differently especially in the 1920s, the late 1930s and the early 1940s, their general long-time development has been very similar. On the other hand, the stumpage prices increased in real value much sharply than wages before the World War II. The real value of stumpage prices dropped because of economic regulation measures in the 1940s until regulation was abolished and the Korean War boom raised them in 1951, to fall after that. The development depends partly of the development of export prices for sawn timber.

Without changing the distribution of income from exports the real value of labour earnings, measured by export prices, may rise at most at a pace corresponding to the productivity of work. In logging there has been no actual increase in the productivity in the 20th century. As the increase in the productivity in timber transportation has probably been absorbed in increased wages and capital costs in the branch, a rise in forest labour’s real earnings and stumpage is possible only by means of a rise in the productivity of sawmilling or a change in the distribution of export income. It seems that from the end of World War I up to the middle of 1920s this increase of productivity and in export prices of sawn timber was shared only by capital and possibly mill labour. After that up to World War II stumpage prices rose so steeply that they swallowed the entire increase in productivity and reduced capital’s share of the export price. In the 40s the level of earnings followed the trend of productivity in industry, made possible by a sharp reduction in stumpage.

The Acta Forestalia Fennica issue 61 was published in honour of professor Eino Saari’s 60th birthday.
The PDF includes a summary in English.

• Heikinheimo, E-mail: lh@mm.unknown