Lilli Kilpinen's local branch took to the phones to recruit candidates
According to Lilli Kilpinen, the local branch wants to make it easier to register as a candidate for the Union Congress elections.
The vice chair of the branch is hoping for diverse candidates, particularly young people.
Lilli Kilpinen, vice chair of the PAM hotel, restaurant and leisure industry branch in Tampere, encourages an open mind when recruiting candidates for the Union Congress elections.
"We want to make it easier to become a candidate in the Union Congress elections. So we called up all shop stewards and contact people to ask if they were interested in registering as candidates."
Kilpinen's message to anyone pondering whether to register as a candidate is that all candidates in the Union Congress elections initially only commit to the three-day Congress.
"This means that candidates can take their time to decide whether they want to join the Council, for example."
Kilpinen has received two types of responses. She says that while some are categorically opposed to the idea of registering as a candidate, others were enthusiastic about the suggestion. She wants to stress the importance of having different types of people as candidates to reach as high a voter turnout as possible.
Kilpinen laughs off the refusals, saying that the local branch will not be deterred by them. She promises that active candidate recruitment will continue.
"I would particularly like to see younger candidates. It would be wonderful to get young people involved."