Finland has seen two major political strikes in the past few weeks alone, as trade unions voice their opposition to the government’s planned labour market reforms and cuts to social security benefits.
In a survey carried out by Taloustutkimus, Yle asked respondents which of the government’s planned reforms they were most opposed to, and also which of the plans they think are the easiest to accept.
The most unpopular proposal is a plan to make the first day of sick leave unpaid — unless otherwise stipulated by a collective agreement or employment contract .
The second-most unpopular proposal was the plan to stop paying unemployed people a ‘child increase‘ supplement, as well as a ‘safety net’ option to earn 300 euros per month without benefits being affected.
The ‘child increase’ payment entitles unemployed parents to bonuses ranging from 150 to 285 euros per month, depending on the number of children they have.
This benefit is set to be cut from 1 April.
Respondents to Yle’s survey also expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s plans to make it easier for employers to terminate an employee’s contract without giving a specific reason.
Currently, employers are compelled by law to provide a valid and strong reason for terminating an employment contract.
“The results suggest that people perceive the weakening of the position of workers as well as job security to be the most unpleasant aspects of the government’s reforms,” Markku Sippola, a senior lecturer at the University of Helsinki, told Yle.
A separate Yle survey, published at the weekend, found that 63 percent of respondents were either ‘dissatisfied’ or ‘very dissatisfied’ with the government’s labour market plans, while only around a third expressed satisfaction.
Some reforms easier to accept
Yle also asked respondents to pick one or two reforms that they personally found easiest or the least difficult to accept.
Nearly one-in-three said the plan to increase fines for illegal strikes was the easiest to accept, while nearly the same proportion chose a provision which would limit political strikes to a maximum duration of one day.
In Sippola’s view, respondents have chosen the least unpleasant from a list of unpleasant options, adding he would not draw conclusions from this result that these measures have widespread support.
The survey results published at the weekend also found that 58 percent said they approved of the trade union strikes against the government’s labour market reforms.
Speaking during a media Q&A on Sunday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) staunchly defended the government’s labour reforms, saying he perceived the political strikes as ideological opposition to the government.
“We really want to find a solution that the trade unions are willing to accept,” he said, but declined to comment further on the scale of additional austerity measures, beyond saying that they were in the billion euro range.
The survey was commissioned by Yle and carried out by Taloustutkimus, with data gathered on 15-16 February. A total of 1,128 people responded to the surveyed, and there is a margin of error of 3 percentage points in either direction.
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