It’s always a special feeling to be back in the office after summer. I came back with the feeling of excitement for a new start here at NFU. Not only has the staff composition changed here in the office for the coming 10 months, but there are many new projects and initiatives happening at NFU right now. These are ideas that we have been preparing and planning for some time now and that finally will take off now during autumn. I’ll walk you through some of them.

First, as you may have read in the previous NFU Update, we have signed an agreement of cooperation with the Association of Estonian Financial Sector Employees (EFL) and the Estonian Communication and Service Workers’ Union (ESTAL) for a project to organize union members in the finance sector in Estonia. This exciting and important work will be carried out by a lead organiser in Estonia and will be closely followed by NFU. We hope that this initiative will be an important step in strengthening of union organisations and relations in the Baltic Sea area and the Nordics.

Second, NFU is launching a Nordic training programme for selected employee representatives from our member unions. The training will focus on the cross border dimension of the trade union work and cover issues such as Nordic and international trade union structures as well as strategic and inter-cultural communication.

Third, NFU has received funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers to look at the Nordic implementation of EU’s finance legislation with focus on the employee and consumer perspectives. The project is planned for one year and will end with a Nordic seminar based on the study.

Besides these three exciting initiatives this autumn we will be busy organising NFU Union Council, taking part in the European social dialogue for bank and insurance in Brussels, defending free collective bargaining in the EU, updating our website, adapting to our new configuration at the office and much more.

I hope that you, as I, feel ready to start again after summer and that we will have an inspiring autumn full of new challenges and possibilities.