Finka to join the new unemployment fund

Preparations for a merger of a new unemployment fund are proceeding on schedule. Unemployment Fund Finka, which has been an unemployment fund for journalists and performing artists among others, will join the merger.

Earlier this week, the Unemployment Fund Finka, Unemployment Fund for Finnish Industrial Workers and Unemployment Fund of the Construction Sector have drawn up initial decisions of the upcoming merger.

The new and bigger unemployment fund adds up to a little less than 200,000 members. When Industrial Unemployment Fund had 135,000 and Construction Sector’s Unemployment Fund 45,000 members last year, Finka had 18,000 members respectively. Together, the total amount of benefits paid was nearly 420 million euros.

Yet unnamed, the new unemployment fund will become one of the biggest unemployment funds in Finland.

The three unemployment funds will conclude a contract concerning merger in March. A definitive agreement on the merger will be approved in June, and the new unemployment fund will start its operations at the beginning of 2022. Currently the three unemployment funds provide employment for 140 people.

Changes to legislation and in unemployment security has put pressure to favour a merger between unemployment funds. These changes challenge the current practices of unemployment funds. The role of the unemployment funds and their personnel as experts with service duties will eventually grow.