According to the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK, one in four employers has unjustifiably restricted the right of employees and shop stewards to express their views on matters concerning the workplace.
According to a SAK survey of union shop stewards, the most common ways to restrict employees' freedom of speech are banning comments on workplace-related issues on social media or in media interviews. Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, of respondents to the survey reported employer policies that they considered unjustified restrictions on their freedom of speech.
Other restrictions imposed by employers were found to be bans on written pieces of commentary and opinion, and demands to review any interviews given to the media before publication. There are also reported cases of journalists being denied access to some workplaces.
Paula Ilveskivi, a lawyer at SAK, points out that employees have a constitutional right to express their opinions in public. It can, however, be limited in certain matters by requirements for professional confidentiality and loyalty requirements by the employer.
Of the shop stewards who responded to the survey, more than a quarter, 27 percent, said opinions publicly expressed by an employee at their workplace had led to action by the employer, usually a meeting with, or warning from the employer. In a few cases, the worker had been dismissed.
"In these situations, it would be considerably [more] helpful to jointly agree on clear guidelines and rules for each workplace on communicating workplace-related issues or opinions," Ilveskivi stated in a SAK press release.
The survey was conducted in late February and early March, receiving 825 responses from union shop stewards and occupational safety and health representatives.