What does ‘tripartite’ mean?

In Finland, the Parliament enacts labour laws, but the laws are agreed on a tripartite basis first.

‘Tripartite’ means that the trade union confederations and employers’ confederations negotiate with the government on all laws related to work. The confederations include the trade union confederations SAK, Akava and STTK and the employers’ confederations EK, KT, VTML and KiT.

Tripartite negotiations are not a Finnish invention; the concept is well-established in history. Finland is committed to tripartite negotiations on matters related to work in international agreements.

Specialists from SAK and its member unions represent their members in the tripartite negotiations. They share their views on what is best for the employees during the negotiations. They are experts at safeguarding the interests of employees. They are also familiar with the everyday operations of their members’ workplaces.

For example, the pension system, occupational safety, and social security are developed tripartitely. The solutions developed by tripartite working groups are often compromises. They are often associated with many other issues and the impact of the tripartite work cannot always be seen. However, their work does have a significant impact on the everyday lives, rights and working life of workers.