Welfare services should be taken care for in Finland

The Finnish Confederation of Professionals STTK, one of the three trade union confederations in Finland, is worried about welfare services in Finland at the times of regression.

STTK appreciates that the treasury of Finland do not plan any more budget cutbacks than planned in the new government program. However, the government program is including balancing actions that are maybe not timed right, as the regression may bring down the trust of employees (in Finnish, palkansaaja). It is important f to have the employees’ believe for the future supported.

The biggest worry in the governmental program for STTK is how the cutbacks proposed will affect in the local communities’ capacity of arranging quality services for all Finns equally. STTK proposes that in this moment of regression, it would be advisable to settle the cutbacks for al longer interval. This would give the local communities more time to accommodate themselves to this situation of regression.

The government’s plans of investing of taking care of the young persons’ unemployment and interfere with their marginalization are necessary actions from STTK’s point of view. Still STTK would like to see more actions from government for balancing the financing situation of Finland and increasing the employment rate. For example persons who are partly capable to work should have the possibility of working according their own skills.

The plans for making the taxation more equal for lower earning persons and elevating labor market subsidies are justified according to STTK. These actions would facilitate the people who are in a weaker position.

The thing outside the employee issues that worries STTK is the cutbacks of the budgets for the police. STTK sees that is more than important to feel safe in this kind of moments of the history, and cutting the budget of the police force will not help for this.

There are estimates giving understanding that in Finland, the resurrection of the Finnish economic growth will fasten this year even more than four percent. The government’s actions should aim on balancing the situation and keeping up the faith of employees, not making them worried and therefore accelerate the fall.