Jyrki Raina
04
Aug

By: Julie Thorpe

Jyrki Raina

Jyrki RainaJyrki Raina is a global industrial relations expert with a strong legal and negotiating background. Jyrki was the First Secretary General of the largest Global Trade Union Federation, IndustriALL from its formation in 2012 until 2017. In that role he brought together workers’ organisations from sectors as diverse as textile, garments and footwear, metal, auto and electronics, chemicals, process, oil, gas, electric power and mining, to create a new type of international hub dealing directly with major global corporations, national governments and international institutions. Jyrki was the architect of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety in the garment sector. This was the first legally binding agreement between brands, suppliers and workers’ organisations with the participation of government and the ILO. It is credited with safeguarding the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers in the RMG sector.

Prior to this, Jyrki was the General Secretary of the International Metalworkers’ Federation following a career trajectory that took him from being a lawyer and collective bargaining office of a Finnish trade union through leading positions in the Nordic regional and international organisations of labour.

Jyrki’s work has also extended the scope and depth of numerous global framework agreements between multinational brands and their worldwide workforce in a variety of sectors. He has been engaged in deliberations at the level of the ILO and has been engaged in resolving tough industrial relations issues at both local and international levels.

He has trained workers and managers in many countries in the practical application of international human and trade union rights law.

Jyrki is a polyglot, speaking (in addition to his native Finnish) English, Swedish, French, Spanish, German and Russian.