Site Agreement signed to ensure a safe and functional construction site in Pyhäjoki

May 20th, 2014

Fennovoima, Rusatom Overseas and Finnish labour market organizations have today on 20th May, 2014, signed a site agreement regarding common rules and procedures at the nuclear power plant that is to be constructed in Pyhäjoki, Finland.

Fennovoima is committed to carry out the nuclear power plant project in a socially responsible way. Terms of employment of workers are managed in compliance with Finnish labour laws, and to prevent grey economy.

- The objective of the site agreement signed today is to settle the policies of cooperation and operating principles in advance, before actual construction work even begins. This is to ensure that everything on the Hanhikivi 1 -construction site with its thousands of international workers proceeds as proficiently as possible and within schedule, says Juha Nurmi, CEO of Fennovoima.

The site agreement is to settle the policies of cooperation that the construction site must comply with: it defines e.g. the procedures of information exchange and problem solving, operation of the representatives of labour unions on the site, and the ways to prevent grey economy in practice.

With this agreement Fennovoima implements the Finnish Parliament's Employment and Equality Committee's statement, which the Committee issued in connection with the Decision-in-Principle procedure in 2010. According to the statement, the overall benefit of the society requires that questions and possible problem situations related to the project are negotiated and agreed with the labour market organizations.

The site agreement signed today is based on work and negotiations started in 2012 within a working group led by Fennovoima. The group was established to settle the policies of cooperation and the methods to prevent grey economy. It includes representatives of the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries, the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries, and the Finnish Energy Industries. Labour unions are represented by the Finnish Metalworkers' Union, Trade Union Pro, the Finnish Construction Trade Union and the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union.

The plant supply contract signed in December 2013 already takes into account contractor liability issues and the prevention of grey economy. Fennovoima and Rusatom Overseas have agreed on a site data system with which it is easy to regulate and manage information of sub-suppliers and their employees.

For more information:
Legal Counsel, Fennovoima, Petri Ellimäki, tel +358 (0)20 757 9231
Director, Public Responsibilities, JSC Rusatom Overseas, Irina Kibina, tel. +7 495 730 0873 (ext. 5269)

Chairman of the Finnish Metalworkers' Union, Riku Aalto, tel. +358 (0)20 77 41000
Chairman of the Finnish Electrical Workers' Union, Martti Alakoski, tel. +358 (0)50 61 188
Director of Industry sector, Trade Union Pro, Markku Palokangas, tel. +358 (0)50 67 467
Chairman of the Finnish Construction Trade Union, Matti Harjuniemi, tel. +358 ( 0)50 1586.

Photos from the agreement signing can be found later this morning on our website: www.fennovoima.fi/en/fennovoima/media/photos-and-graphs.

Fennovoima is constructing new nuclear power in order to produce reasonably priced electricity for the Finnish trade and industries and for Finnish households, help Finland to move toward energy self-sufficiency and increase competition in electricity markets.