Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK ( fi, Tekniikan Akateemisten Liitto TEK, sv, Teknikens Akademikerförbund) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

of university-educated

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s. In addition, the TEK is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

and the

professional body A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the ...

of the engineering profession. The union requires that its full members have a master's degree or equivalent in engineering, architecture, mathematics, physics or in other sciences related to technology.

History

The TEK was founded in 1896 as the association of Finnish-speaking engineering professionals (''Suomenkielisten teknikkojen seura''). In early years, it was mainly a learned society, which aimed to promote the use of Finnish language in the engineering profession dominated by the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countr ...

. During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the activities of the association widened into wider sphere of Engineering and Economics. In 1936, the association differentiated itself from the engineers and technicians who had graduated from polytechnics, and started to require a master's degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

( fi,

diplomi-insinööri Diplomi-insinööri (DI) ( sv, diplomingenjör) is a Finnish Master's level academic degree with a nominal length of 300 ECTS credits. The official English translation of the degree is Master of Science (Technology). The Finnish name derives from ...

) of its members. This was signalled also in the name ''Suomen teknillinen seura'' (Finnish technological society), which excluded

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different speciali ...

s. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

brought about inflation which severely affected the middle classes earning fixed salaries. Little by little, the association increased its activities as the lobbying body of the engineering profession, starting to offer continuing education and pursuing studies on the social and economic standing of its membership. In 1972, the Finnish-speaking STS and its Swedish-speaking counterpart ''Tekniska föreningen i Finland'' (TFiF) formed a common trade union KAL, which started to negotiate collectively with the employers as a full-scale trade union. In 1978, the KAL started to insure its members against

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...

and in 1984, the Finnish Association of

Mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

s and

Physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

s (SMFL) gave the KAL a mandate to negotiate on its behalf. The present structure of the association was formed in 1993, as the KAL and the STS, which had been in close cooperation for two decades, converged into the TEK. At the same time, the Swedish-speaking TFiF and the SMFL remained separate, although all members of the SMFL are automatically also members of the TEK.

Activities

The TEK has delegated its right to negotiate collectively to two organizations. In the public sector, the JUKO (Educated employees of the public sector) negotiates collectively with the state and municipal governments for all university-level employees. In the private sector, the YTN (Negotiating organization of the upper-level salaried employees) is the body responsible for the collective agreements of university-educated staff. Although rather moderate in its bargaining, the YTN went to

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in 2007 when the collective negotiations in the industrial

design bureau OKB is a transliteration of the Russian initials of "" – , meaning 'experiment and design bureau'. During the Soviet era, OKBs were closed institutions working on design and prototyping of advanced technology, usually for military applications. ...

branch broke up. The strike included some 6,000 engineers and scientists and lasted 11 days, resulting in a slightly better collective agreement than had been offered earlier by the employers. As the learned society of engineering profession, the TEK engages in public discussion on the technology, engineering education and research. This contribution is supported by the studies conducted by its staff. In particular, the TEK supports active state participation in and financing of the R&D activities. Perhaps the most visible single activity of the TEK is the annual Finnish Engineering Award ( fi, Suomalainen insinöörityöpalkinto) which is awarded to an outstanding achievement of original engineering or architectural work. As the main body of the engineering profession of Finland, the TEK has since 1966 published the Engineer's rule of honour, the ethical guidelines of engineering profession. The latest edition of the rule is from 1996.Tekniikan akateemisten liiton kunniasääntö
Retrieved 5-11-2008. . For its members, the TEK offers the usual services provided by Finnish trade union.

References

{{Portal, Organized labour

Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK ( fi, Tekniikan Akateemisten Liitto TEK, sv, Teknikens Akademikerförbund) is a Finnish trade union of university-educated engineers, architects and scientists. In addition, the TEK is a learned ...

Engineering societies based in Finland 1896 establishments in Finland Trade unions in Finland