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Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL

JHL organises welfare and wellbeing professionals and students in local and central government, wellbeing services counties, parishes and private wellbeing services.

"Images of members of the trade union JHL, with the Finnish text "Ammattiliitto JHL #1001ammattia" in the center.
JHL:n logo.
JHL online service

Members

JHL represents professionals in a wide variety of fields, covering a total of about one thousand occupational titles.

You may join JHL if you are working for

Joining the union

You may join JHL by completing the online application form.

Join JHL

The membership subscription fee for JHL in 2025 is 1.1 per cent of gross wages. This membership subscription fee includes membership of the union’s unemployment fund. The membership fee is tax-deductible.

JHL has four specialised affiliates with membership application forms of their own. Further details of these affiliates are set out on their own introductory pages:

Border Security Union
Finnish Customs Officers’ Union
Finnish Non-Commissioned Officers Union
Finnish Prison Officers’ Association

Student membership

Students on courses leading to a wide range of vocational qualifications may join JHL as student members. The main occupational sectors organised by JHL are the social welfare and health care sector, the catering and cleaning sector, the pedagogy and education sector, the information, administration and library sector, the technical, energy and traffic sector, and the security sector.

Student membership is free of charge. Student members of JHL are eligible for all membership benefits. They may also join the Public and Welfare Sectors’ Unemployment Fund and activate this membership when they start to work.

Join JHL as a student member

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Elisa Kivinen (34)

Elisa Kivinen sees things at work that many people would prefer to ignore. Working with the most vulnerable people in society means providing a tangible presence, and can ideally be very rewarding.

  • Elisa is a project worker at Mansikka Cultural Workshop, an activity of the Southern Finland Clubhouses Association (ESKOT). This initiative promotes the status of individuals who are in mental health rehabilitation or in need of psychosocial support at seven locations.
  • Elisa is a member of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL).

“Even back when I was a student, it was always clear that I would join the union. There were some instances of malpractice in employment at my earlier workplaces, and these gave me an ingrained conviction concerning the need to defend not only my own rights, but also those of my colleagues and workmates. A sense of injustice can be a powerful motivator. I have been involved in union activities for young adults in Southeast Finland, representing the region at the JHL youth forum. I am entitled to attend and address the union’s delegate council.”

Collective agreements

JHL negotiates the following collective agreements:

Learn more about JHL’s collective agreements