SOOL is OAJ’s student organisation
Teacher students can be members of the Finnish Teacher Student Union of Finland (SOOL), which is an advocate of the interests of teacher students in all fields and OAJ’s student organisation.
As a SOOL member, you receive the same membership benefits as OAJ’s members. If, during your study period, you work even briefly as a teaching or research substitute, you are also entitled to the advisory and advocacy services of OAJ’s payroll experts and shop stewards.
You can join SOOL through its member associations, i.e. student associations for teacher students, but a member association must be joined separately. If you do not have a student association, you can join SOOL directly as an individual member.
Please note that becoming a member of SOOL does not automatically include membership of the Unemployment Fund for Education and Science. As a member of SOOL, you can join the unemployment fund separately on the basis of even a short employment relationship related to your own field of study, such as substitute work. This means you can build up your future unemployment security already during your studies.
Read more on SOOL’s website and become a member
Graduation
After graduation, you can become a member of OAJ when you are first employed, even for a short-term, in an employment relationship or as a civil servant in the teaching or research sector. Without teacher qualification, OAJ membership is subject to an employment contract that is valid for the whole school term. When you join OAJ, your membership of SOOL ends automatically.
Senior membership
As a retiring member of OAJ, you can join the Retired Teachers in Finland, OSJ. OSJ is a national organisation of retired teachers, which includes more than 20,000 members from all OAJ’s member groups.
OSJ aims to improve the social benefits of its members and secure pension benefits. In addition, OSJ organises training events and has 70 active local associations all over Finland. Its local associations organise a wide range of health, cultural and recreational activities.
By joining OSJ, you receive access to the many health, cultural and recreational activities, as well as excellent membership benefits. OAJ will pay the union fee for the year you join. If you work during your retirement, you are entitled to receive, subject to a separate fee, a service package, which includes professional liability and legal expenses insurance.
Your membership benefits include:
- The OAJ calendar
- The Senioriopettaja magazine, published five times per year
- Discounts on insurance premiums, magazine subscriptions, spa services and Holiday Club vacations.
If you have already retired and are no longer a member of OAJ, you can join OSJ yourself by filling in the membership form on the OSJ website.
With dual membership, you can belong to two trade unions
Do you work in the field of education in a teaching, expert, administrative or research position, but you also want to maintain your degree-based membership in another Akava trade union? Become a duel member and you can be a member of two Akava trade unions at the same time.
Dual membership lets you enjoy the benefits of two different trade unions without having to pay two union fees, as dual membership is significantly cheaper than two union fees combined.
The primary trade union of a person with dual membership is determined on the basis of which union is responsible for advocacy in their sector.
OAJ is the only trade union advocating for people who work in the education or research sector, so it always takes precedence for them in case of dual membership.
Who can become a dual member?
OAJ has dual membership arrangements with the Finnish Business School Graduates, the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland and Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK. Dual membership guarantees economists and engineers working in teaching, expert, administration or research positions in the field of education an effective means of advocacy in the education sector while allowing them to be a part of their own professional interest group.
Dual members pay OAJ’s normal union fee. If you are a member of one of these organisations, you can also join OAJ by submitting an electronic membership application. In your application, state your wish for dual membership. Also inform your other trade union that you want to continue as a member while becoming a dual member of OAJ.
If you are already a member of OAJ and want to become a dual member of another organisation, contact OAJ’s membership services.