About PAM
Service Union United PAM is a trade union for people working in private service sectors. PAM has 190 000 members and 71% of them are women. The majority of PAM’s members work in retail trade, property services, security services as well as tourism, restaurant and leisure services. PAM negotiates collective agreements for service sectors and safeguards its members’ interests at workplaces.
Established
28th November 2000
Union president
Annika Rönni-Sällinen
Members
31.12.2022: about 190 000
Local branches
116
Elected employee representatives
About 2,500
PAM and Unemployment Fund membership fee:
1.5%
Collective agreements
33 agreements, several protocols
Council
- Chairman
- 1 vice chairman
- 2 vice chairman
- 50 members
- 10 general deputies
Executive Committee
- Union President
- Personal deputy of the President of the Executive Committee
- 15 members
- 3 general deputies
Board of the Unemployment Fund
Chair, three members, three deputies
Women members
About 71%
Young members aged under 31
25 %
Union membership rates
- Commerce: about 65%
- Hotel and restaurant services: about 70%
- Cleaning and property services: about 55%
- Security services: about 60%
European Union activities
Finnish trade unions are also engaged in plenty of activities at EU level, as many decisions that influence the world of work and the everyday lives of workers are currently made in cooperation between EU member countries.
PAM is a member of two global umbrella organizations for service sector unions, UNI and IUF. Both of these organizations also have EU-level activities, in which PAM is also involved.
The two Finnish trade union confederations, SAK and STTK, have a joint EU office in Brussels, FinUnions. It looks after the interests of Finnish employees and informs its Finnish stakeholders about EU decision-making processes. European trade unions also have their own central organization, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
International PAM
PAM plays a strong role in international activities. The union is committed to promoting democracy, justice, equality and social security both nationally and internationally.
The labour market is becoming increasingly international, while multinational companies are growing and workers are moving more and more often from one country to another. As a result, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to look after workers’ rights. This is exactly why we need stronger international trade union activities than ever.
If a company violates workers’ rights outside Finland, this lowers its threshold to do so in Finland too. Therefore, it is also in the best interests of Finnish workers to have rights for workers in place globally.
PAM supports workers’ rights to form and join unions in Estonia, Russia, Bosnia, Asia, Latin America and Africa. Its solidarity projects in support of local trade union activities cover several PAM sectors from commerce to security services. PAM’s main partner in international advocacy and lobbying efforts is the Trade Union Solidarity Centre of Finland, SASK.