The 150-member Council is OAJ’s highest decision-making body.
OAJ’s Council is elected at the Council elections organised every fourth spring. The elections were last held in 2018 and more than half of those elected to the Council were new candidates. OAJ’s Council represents all of the union’s 120,000 members. The Council has 150 members and the same number of deputy members.
The members are elected in the districts through general and proportional elections. All of the teacher groups and regions are represented in the Council.
Make yourself heard – vote!
By voting you can influence the development and working conditions of the education, training and research sector – by voting you are defending your own interests.
Every member of OAJ who has paid their union fees is entitled to vote.
Council members have the highest decision-making authority
The council members’ job is to take the messages of the members they represent to the decision-making bodies and to provide the members with information on the union’s decisions and policies. The Council additionally devises OAJ’s general policies such as the strategy and action plan.
As the Council members hold the highest decision-making authority in the union, the elections hold great opportunities to influence how the field of education, research and training is promoted. Submit your candidacy for the next election to influence the union’s values, activities and objectives!
What happened in the last election?
OAJ’s election goal was for as many people of different ages and backgrounds to submit their candidacy to guarantee a broad selection of candidates. A further goal was to have at least 450 candidates run for election.
The number of candidates did not quite meet the goal; 337 people ran for election. There were significant changes in the number of candidates in the districts, as there were more vocational teachers and early childhood education teachers than before.
Of the candidates, 97 women and 53 men were elected, and the average age of the council members is 50 years. More than half of the elected members were new, which means new insight during this term of office.
The voter turnout was 40 per cent, which is higher than the average for trade unions.