Editorial | The government is putting its prestige on the line for the sake of salary moderation

Editorial|Editorial

Prime minister The last year of Sanna Marini’s (sd) government is going by fast. Behind the scenes, a full head of steps are already being drawn for the next reign. Before that, however, there is still time for a lot to happen.

The government has survived two evils: the coronavirus epidemic and the NATO process, which Finland was forced into by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Both times the government reacted to the surprising situation quickly and decisively.

The two crises were connected by the fact that they started from an external threat. In such situations, Finns are used to rallying behind their leaders. It made the government’s work easier. That is why the government may not face its real test until the labor market disputes in the fall. The final result of the test determines the board’s final grade.

In a key position are the nursing unions Tehy and Super, which have invested huge amounts in salary negotiations since the beginning. The unions have demanded a five-year salary program in which nurses’ salaries would rise by 3.6 percent over the general line every year.

At first, the unions of the municipal sector held negotiations at a common table, but then the nurses realized that the entire municipal sector could not possibly get such large wage increases. The nurses jumped aside from joint negotiations and said they were only seeking big raises for themselves. The reason given was the labor shortage in the industry, and the threat of mass layoffs around the turn of next year was chosen as the method.

The nurses’ unions reckon that the decision-makers will not dare to let healthcare into chaos during the parliamentary elections. The perception may have been strengthened by the fact that Prime Minister Marin has previously spoken quite encouragingly about wage struggles in female-dominated fields.

However, the nurses may have miscalculated. During the spring, the prime minister resolutely stayed away from labor market issues, but the silence was broken during the prime minister’s interview hour during midsummer: Marin urged nurses to join the municipal sector agreement. Finance Minister Annika Saarikko (Centre) has also offered the same message.

Ministers they don’t comment lightly on work disputes, because then there is little to gain – especially if you have to knock down wishes. It is therefore worth taking the speeches seriously.

The background is that the agreement reached by the conciliation board was both generous and exceptional, as it offered the municipal sector better raises than the general line for five years. The municipal sector became a rider on the back of export unions.

The arrangement has aroused fury among wage earners in the industry as well as employers. If the nurses’ unions – and perhaps the rest of the municipal sector in their footsteps – were to receive additional increases on top of the increases, there would be an auction of salaries or the collapse of the current negotiation system. For the government, it would mean a massive failure.

Government is therefore trying to defuse the fall labor market bomb in advance. Succeeding in that requires two things.

In the negotiations of the export sectors, heads must be kept cool. If wage increases start to compete with the inflation rate, the inflation spike can turn into an inflation spiral. That’s about it warned among others, SAK’s chief economist Ilkka Kaukoranta.

The government has even hidden the reduction of income taxes as a carrot for salary malt. It wouldn’t make much economic political sense in this situation, but the government doesn’t really have anything else to throw on the negotiating table.

The other thing is the caregivers’ demands, which simply cannot be agreed to. The government has now clearly said that and tied its authority to it. So you should listen.

The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS’s editorial department, and they reflect the magazine principle line.