Toward full employment and a better working life

Employment must be further strengthened. The next milestone should be an employment rate of 80 percent, which would take Finland to the same level with other Nordic countries. The longer-term goal must be full employment, that is, a situation where the unemployment rate is notably less than 5 percent. We need a higher level of employment than today to be able to secure a functioning welfare state also for future generations.

Everyone should have the opportunity for full-time work, and involuntary part-time work must be reduced. In many sectors, it is impossible to get by with part-time work, and thus we must make sure that those who want to work full-time have the opportunity to do so. The obligation of employers to offer full-time work to their part-time employees must be tightened. Part-time contracts must have a lawful basis. This would not affect the possibility to participate in the labour market according to their own abilities or wishes of those with partial work ability or those who work part-time of their own volition.

The efficiency of work has continued to increase, and in the past decades, the greater efficiency could better be seen also in the development of workers’ wages and free time. Working hours were reduced and the level of compensation improved. For a long time now, the results of the growth in productivity have, however, gone somewhere else than to benefit workers. As a matter of fact, the working hours of many workers have even got longer in recent years as a consequence of the Competitiveness Pact. This is a matter of wellbeing at work, better distribution of labour and economic justice alike. For this reason, our objective must be that employees benefit from the increase of the productivity of work either as higher income or as shorter working hours.

Work changes form and evolves. Society must change alongside it. This also requires stricter regulation in places where people whose labour force status is poor need protection. The status of those who work in new forms of employment must be strengthened by preventing the masking of employment relationships as something else. The Labour Council will be provided the authority to issue opinions on the existence of employment relationship. The possibilities of self-employed people to collective agreement activity will be clarified.

We will increase equality and parity in working life

Equality and parity are at the core of SDP’s work. The same pay must be paid for the same and equal work. SDP wants to strengthen equality in working life by overhauling the Act on Equality between Women and Men to look at, in particular, promoting equality, the prohibition of discrimination, and the functioning and adequacy of supervision and judicial remedies. An equality programme will be prepared and, through tripartite negotiations, an equal pay programme extending beyond government terms will be created.

Working life needs more flexibility. Flexible reconciliation of working and non-working life supports wellbeing at work. For this reason, workers’ opportunities to influence their working hours should be increased. Parenthood and the daily life of families are supported by creating a family-friendly work culture that enables reconciliation of work and family life. Remote work must be as safe as on-site work, and therefore occupational accidents regulation should be improved to correspond to the insurance coverage of on-site work. Other needs for legislative development due to the expansion of remote work will be examined.

A family-friendly workplace takes different life situations and needs related to them into account as part of work and workplace practices. Services and working life should be made more flexible so that parents can participate in parents’ infos, educational and assessment discussions, and broad family health checks. The diversity of families and life situations must also be taken into account. Family-friendly practices also consider, for example, helping elderly relatives in their everyday life. Good workplaces take into account the needs of all kinds of people. A person without a family may get support in care from someone who is not a relative, and this should be possible, too. Employees should have the right to reduced working hours if their circumstances so require, and the working hours account system should be further developed.

Family leaves must not affect career progression or the wage level. Different family situations must be recognised in working life. The implementation of the family leave reform, adopted in autumn 2022, is to be monitored and updated further, where necessary. Also the home care allowance system must be reformed to increase flexibility and support children’s participation in early childhood education and care.

Wage transparency promotes pay equity. Wage transparency and pay awareness in the workplace should be improved through legislation. Pregnancy discrimination can be reduced by stricter monitoring and sanctions. The opportunities of disabled people or those with partial work ability to enter the labour market will be improved in different ways, for example by improving organisations’ possibilities to offer employment and expanding the work of Työkanava Ltd. We will make sure that the health and social services supporting the ability to work of the unemployed, initiated in the Work ability programme, are integrated in the employment services of municipalities, and seamless cooperation with the health and social services in wellbeing services counties will be seen to.

We will address the labour shortage comprehensively

From health and social services to industry and private services, more and more fields suffer from labour shortages. When prolonged, the skills shortage weakens Finland’s economic prospects and the ability to maintain welfare state services. However, we must take into account the different forms of labour shortage: fields where labour is not available even for full-time work paid according to collective agreements are of particular concern. When workers are sought for part-time or underpaid employment, the problem is not the same.

It is also the responsibility of employers, for their part, to seek solutions to the labour shortage. Pay, working conditions, and the quality of employment are important factors in this. To correct the skills shortage, possibilities of both domestic education policy and labour immigration should be used. Swift investments in raising the education level are needed. The resources of labour market training must be safeguarded.

Adults in retraining must be better supported. Forms of workplace education and training used, in particular, in upper secondary education could be an important method for removing obstacles of retraining in a new field (such as lack of income during studies). Apprenticeship training and adult student allowance are important elements in enabling retraining and solving skills mismatches. In forms of education tailored for retraining, applicants of the minority gender should be preferred, within the law.

It is important that the aim of desegregation is also taken into account in public employment and business services (TE services) that many use particularly in the transition phases of their career. This will promote both gender desegregation and more comprehensive educational equality.

It must be made sure that health and social services in the welfare services counties have sufficient and skilled personnel. To increase attraction and retention in the field, we need diverse actions both on the local and national levels. Student intakes must be increased further, different paths to the health and social services field should be utilised, and the return of people who have left the field should be supported. The division of labour must be done so that the personnel can do meaningful work that corresponds to their training. Working conditions, management, and wellbeing at work must be developed. Further and specialist training and securing career and wage development possibilities are important factors. A comprehensive wage plan must be drafted in the long term, even though wage settlements will remain in the hands of the social partners. Possibilities to support labour immigration will be looked into and the necessary actions will be taken, such as reforming language requirements in the field.

Modern working conditions in which appropriate, diverse technology and digital services can, for their part, improve the wellbeing of employees and the effectiveness of services, improve job attractiveness. It is important to adhere to staffing ratios to be able to guarantee quality services and safety for clients and wellbeing at work for the personnel.

We need more labour immigration

Finland needs labour immigration to respond to the demand for skilled labour and strengthen opportunities for growth. We need more competence in international recruitment and encouraging qualified people to come to Finland. This calls for resources in the employment services of the state and major towns alike.

Our service promise to professionals moving to Finland and their families must be that, in addition to permit processes, other transactions with public authorities and access to services will be easy and that they can have a smooth start to their lives in Finland. This also means facilitating family reunification. Active support must be offered for the integration of families and the employment of a spouse who also moves here.

A person moving to Finland to work not only brings their work contribution here: they bring their entire life. Sufficient resources are to be channelled to a smooth immigration experience and its development. Also labour immigrants must be taken into account as a client group in integration services.

We will reduce mental health related workload in the workplace

The increase of disabilities due to mental disorders must be stopped. The ability to work, stay in the labour market, and mental health of workers must be supported. Particular attention must be paid to psychosocial workload as a matter of occupational safety and working hour protection. To enable return to the labour market, better support must be available everywhere in Finland. Opportunities to return to work part-time must be increased.

The employer obligations regarding prevention, recognition, and regular evaluation of psychosocial workload as well as actions to reduce the workload shall be specified. The role of occupational health services and other health and social services in supporting return to work will be strengthened.

We will effectively intervene in labour exploitation and labour market crime

Labour exploitation and labour market crime must be addressed more effectively and the status of victims must be improved. Exploitation threatens to lead to a set of separate labour markets, and this development must be stopped. The police, prosecutors, and occupational safety and health authorities must be able to intervene in labour exploitation more decisively.

Criminal legislation must be reviewed so that exploitation and underpayment carry appropriate penalties and the victims have access to justice. The status of shop stewards must be strengthened and trade unions given right of action. These actions support addressing problems and strengthen respect of the ground rules of the labour market.

Also, the monitoring resources of occupational safety and health authorities must be increased. The regularity of terms of employment and the workplace must be ensured as part of the residence permit process. Labour market testing is a good tool but it needs to be supported by better monitoring and more substantial sanctions. Cooperation and data exchange between authorities to prevent labour exploitation must be improved.

Investments are required in the prevention of black economy linked to the labour market. Extending contractor’s obligations and liability and the tax number requirement as well as enacting ambitious corporate responsibility legislation are right steps in the prevention of labour market crime and black economy.

We want the Finnish consensus society back

Safeguarding collective agreements and their general applicability is an important labour market policy premise for SDP. According to studies, functioning systems of agreement increase productivity and improve wellbeing at workplaces and industrial peace.

The Finnish consensus society needs reinforcing. The Nordic labour market model can be safeguarded by broadening the criteria of general applicability and strengthening the applicability of generally applicable collective agreements. The collective agreement considered most representative in the relevant sector and negotiated by a trade union must be confirmed as the generally applicable collective agreement irrespective of its coverage in percentage. The confirmed general applicability must always remain valid to the end of the agreement term. The after-effect of collective agreements, that is, the fact that after a collective agreement expires, its provisions will apply in the interval without a collective agreement, shall be stated by law.

The Employment Contracts Act is to be specified to safeguard the right of organised employees to select a shop steward, as referred to in the collective agreement, in all workplaces and to strengthen the protection, rights and access to information of shop stewards. As the labour market system is decentralised, we must be prepared to strengthen the role of shop stewards in the interpretation of collective agreements, according to the Swedish model. It will be ensured that local agreements are balanced and based on national collective agreements. The right to industrial action will be protected.

The methods of the National Conciliator’s Office should be reformed to reflect the decentralised system of negotiations. As the mediation system diverges, it is appropriate to find the ways in which proactive mediation can be strengthened.