Industrial Union Congress elects Riku Aalto as Chair and Turja Lehtonen as Vice Chair

The Industrial Union Congress has elected Riku Aalto as the union’s Chair for the term 2023–2028. Turja Lehtonen was elected Vice Chair. Due to a rule change, the Industrial Union will have only one vice chair in the future. The Union Congress elected the chair and vice chair unanimously.

Aalto, 58, has chaired the Industrial Union since spring 2017. Before this, he was the President of the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union since 2008 and has previously served as the union’s CFO, among other roles. Aalto also has work experience from the Uusikaupunki automotive plant, for example.

Aalto has a Master’s degree in Administrative Sciences and is an electronics technician by training. He holds numerous positions of trust and board memberships in both Finnish and international organisations.

As Vice Chair, the Industrial Union elected Turja Lehtonen, 52. Lehtonen has served as Vice Chair of the Industrial Union and union secretary and organisational secretary in the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union. He is an air conditioning technician by training and before joining the Metalworkers’ Union, worked in various jobs such as an edger operator at Valmet’s mill in Pansio, Turku.

The Annual Congress of the Industrial Union was held in Tampere at Tampere Hall from 22 to 24 May 2023. The Union Congress will resume on Wednesday with a discussion of the Industrial Union’s new strategy and elections of the Board and Council for the term 2023–2028.

The Industrial Union is the largest trade union in Finland. The union began its operations at the start of 2018, when the Finnish Metalworkers’ Union, Industrial Union TEAM and the Woodworkers’ Union merged to form the Industrial Union.