Articles of Association

Article 1 Name, purpose and registered office of the association

The name of the association is the Association for Finnish Work, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Association’.

The purpose of the Association is to:

1. Make Finnish work admired
2. Improve the competitive position of Finnish products and services both in the domestic and export markets

The Association shall fulfil its purpose through research, communications, advocacy and education, and projects carried out in partnership with its members.

The Association’s registered office is in Helsinki.

Article 2 Membership

The following corporations can become members of the Association:

Finnish incorporated limited companies, cooperatives, associations and other societies. The existing membership benefits, if any, shall be retained.

The Association’s Executive Committee shall make the decision on accepting an applicant as a member.

Membership cancellations shall be made in writing and addressed to the Executive Committee or its chairman. A member can also cancel its membership by giving notice to that effect at an Association meeting. The cancellation shall take effect at the end of the calendar year during which the notice of cancellation has been made.

The Executive Committee can decide that a member which has failed to pay its membership fees for two consecutive financial years is deemed to have cancelled its membership.

The Executive Committee can decide that a member which has acted in violation of the Association’s purposes or good business practice is expelled from the Association.

Article 3 Membership fees

Upon joining the Association, a member shall pay a membership fee, the amount of which is approved by the Association meeting for each calendar year in advance.

Members of the Association shall pay a membership fee the amount of which is determined by the Association meeting for each calendar year in advance.

Article 4 Funds

The Association is entitled to receive donations.

The annual surplus, if any, generated by the Association’s activities shall be transferred to a general purpose fund, the assets of which can be used to cover the expenses arising from the Association’s activities.

The Association meeting can make a decision to establish new funds for the Association. The Association meeting shall decide on the use of the funds unless otherwise indicated by the donator.

Article 5 Association meetings

The Executive Committee shall summon the Association’s members to an annual meeting which is held no later than between September and November of each year, and to an extraordinary Association meeting when a) the Association’s Executive Committee consider it necessary for the purpose of discussing a matter, or when b) the Executive Committee is presented with a proposal for convening an extraordinary Association meeting, which 1/20 of the Association’s members have signed.

Only matters entered in the notice of the meeting shall be discussed at the Association meeting.

A notice of the Association meeting shall be delivered to the members by post or email no later than 10 days before the meeting.

The Association meeting shall:

1. Elect a chairman of the meeting
2. Elect a secretary and two persons to examine the minutes
3. Attest that the meeting is legitimate and the members present constitute a quorum
4. Discuss the Executive Committee’s report on the Association’s activities of the previous year and make the decisions, if any, arising therefrom
5. Discuss the financial statements and the related auditor’s report
6. Adopt the financial statements
7. Decide on discharging the Association’s Executive Committee from liability
8. Elect the chairman and members of the Association’s Election Committee every three years
9. Confirm the number of the members of the Board of Governors
10. Decide on the attendance allowances paid to the chairman, vice-chairmen and members of the Board of Governors
11. Elect members of the Board of Governors to replace the retiring members in rotation
12. Elect a chairman and two vice-chairmen of the Board of Governors, who are also referred to as ‘the Association’s Chairman’ and ‘the Association’s Vice-chairmen’
13. Confirm the amount of joining and membership fees
14. Elect an authorised public accountant and his or her personal deputy or authorised public accountants
15. Discuss any other business specified in the notice of the meeting.

Each member shall have one vote at the Association meeting.

The members of the Executive Committee and the Board of Governors shall be entitled to be present and speak at the Association meetings.

Article 6 The Association’s Election Committee

The Association shall have an Election Committee comprising 3-5 members. The term of office of the Election Committee shall be three years. The secretary of the Election Committee shall be the Association’s Managing Director.

The Association’s Election Committee shall propose members annually for the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee.

Article 7 The Association’s Board of Governors

The Association shall have a Board of Governors, the members of which represent the Association’s membership and exercise the decision-making power in the Association. However, the Board of Governors shall not have any decision-making power in matters which in accordance with these Articles belong to the Association meeting or in which the Association meeting has made a decision or which are pending at the Association meeting in accordance with the Articles.

The Association’s Chairman, two Vice-chairmen and no less than 15 but no more than 32 members, elected for a term of three years by the Association meeting, shall form the Board of Governors. A third of the Board members shall retire each year by rotation. No more than 1/5 of the members of the Board of Governors can be representatives of organisations. The remaining Board members shall be elected from the member companies. A personal deputy shall be elected for each member of the Board of Governors.

A member whose turn it is to retire can be re-elected.

The Executive Committee shall summon the Board of Governors to a meeting, the notice of which is sent to the Board members a week before the meeting. The Board of Governors shall have quorum when the Chairman and 1/5 of the members are present.

At the meeting, matters shall be decided by a majority of votes. If the votes are evenly divided, the Chairman’s vote shall decide.

The ordinary meeting of the Board of Governors, held between September and November,
shall:

1. Determine the allowances of the members of the Executive Committee
2. Elect the members of the Executive Committee and a personal deputy for each Committee member, in order to replace the members about to retire
3. Elect the chairman of the Board of Governors and the Vice-chairman every three years
4. Adopt the Association’s action plan and the budget for the following calendar year

In addition, the Board of Governors shall:

5. Handle the matters proposed by the Executive Committee, Board members or Association members

Article 8 The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is the statutory representative of the Association. The Committee consists of a chairman, a vice-chairman and 6-10 other members and a personal deputy for each member. The members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the ordinary meeting of the Board of Governors. The members can be elected for a maximum of two consecutive terms.

The term of office of an Executive Committee member shall be three years. The term begins when the member is elected and ends when a replacement member is elected. A third of the other members shall retire each year by rotation. The Executive Committee shall decide on the share of members retiring after the first term.

The Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum when the Chairman or the Vice-chairman and at least half of the other members are present. At the meeting, matters shall be decided by a majority of votes. If the votes are evenly divided, the Chairman’s vote shall decide.

The purpose of the Executive Committee is to steer the Association’s activities. In addition to the matters to be handled by the Executive Committee in accordance with these Articles, the Committee shall also perform the following, including but not limited to:

1. Drawing up the Association’s action plan
2. Nominating and dismissing the Association’s Managing Director and other directors and nominating one of them as the Managing Director’s deputy
3. Nominating and dismissing the editor of the Association’s publication, if any
4. Making decisions on the applications for membership
5. Making decisions on expelling members
6. Preparing the matters to be discussed by the Association meeting and the Board of Governors
7. Managing and controlling the Association’s assets
8. Appointing the necessary committees and working groups for preparing and handling matters and for providing assistance for the Executive Committee
9. Drawing up the Association’s financial statements and the report on the Association’s activities in the previous calendar year

Article 9 Role of the Managing Director

The Managing Director shall:

1. Prepare and present the matters raised at the Executive Committee’s meetings
2. Manage the Association’s office and organise its work
3. Give statements on the matters discussed by the Association meeting, the Board of Governors and the Executive Committee and ensure that the decisions are implemented
4. Ensure that the Association’s assets are managed and accounts are drawn up

Article 10 The Association’s signatories

Two persons shall be required to sign for the Association. The Association’s Chairman, Vice-chairman, Chairman of the Executive Committee, the Managing Director and the officers authorised by the Executive Committee shall have the right to sign for the Association.

Article 11 The Association’s accounts

The Association’s financial year is a calendar year.

The Association’s accounts and receipts shall be delivered to the auditors in good time in order for the members to be notified of the financial statements and the auditor’s report no later than 10 days before the Association meeting.

Article 12 Amendments to the Articles

The Association meeting can decide to amend these Articles, provided that the decision has received two thirds of
the votes given at the Association meeting.

An amendment to the Articles proposed by a member shall be addressed to the Executive Committee, which then delivers its own proposal to the Association meeting.

Article 13 The Association’s dissolution

A decision to dissolve the Association shall be made at two consecutive Association meetings with an interval of at least a month between them, in which the dissolution has been supported by two thirds of all votes. The latter meeting shall decide on the release of the Association’s remaining assets to an incorporated society, the purpose of which is to promote the general appreciation of Finnish work.

Reformed Articles of 26 November 2015