50-year-old Niko Simola has a Master’s Degree in law. As the head of Pro's Public Sector, he has led his sector's collective bargaining for state and university collective agreements, for example. In addition, he has been responsible for the development of Pro's association and regional activities.
Running for the position of President were also the then 1st Vice President of Pro's Board Pasi Heikkinen, the then 1st Vice-President of the Representative Body Juha Kinnunen , Pro’s Director of Public Affairs Maria Mäkynen and the General Secretary of Samak, the Nordic cooperation committee of social democratic parties and trade unions Antti Rinne.
The second round of the election took place between Simola and Mäkynen. Simola got 51 votes and Mäkynen 48.
For this autumn's labor negotiation round, Simola is calling for an improvement in the position of employees.
- The Finnish society will not succeed by weakening employees' conditions and working life. In this round, purchasing power and working conditions should be improved without industrial disputes harmful to all parties. The ball is largely in the employers' court, Simola states.