The Government is planning drastic cuts to the workers’ rights and the financing of the social services and health care sector. These actions would serve to deepen the crisis in our sector and the shortage of nurses even more, which is why we are now coming together to protest. We will do everything in our power to halt these Government plans that threaten the female-dominated social services and health care sector.
Programme
The demonstration will begin on Wednesday 20 September 2023 at 4 pm at Rautatientori in Helsinki from where we will march together to Parliament House. At the event, addresses will be given by, for example, Tehy President and Chairperson Millariikka Rytkönen and several other Tehy figures. The event is hosted by Katja Ståhl. The event will end around 6 pm. Coffee and pastries will be available. You can participate in the demonstration on your free time.
Participate
Bring a sign or a banner! Share your impressions of the event on social media with the hashtags #tehy #hallitus. Remember to tag Tehy!
Share an invitation to the demonstration with your network. Download banners for social media: square | story.
Transport to the demonstration
We recommend that you use public transport to get to the event. We will also be organising free transport to the demonstration from across southern Finland. Tehy bus routes:
Jyväskylä-Lahti-Helsinki
Tampere-Valkeakoski-Lempäälä-Helsinki
Turku-Salo-Lohja-Helsinki
Porvoo-Helsinki
Hämeenlinna-Riihimäki-Hyvinkää-Helsinki
Read more about the transport available and register here by 19 September at 12:00 noon.
Further information: [email protected]
Some of the professional branches will also be organising shared transport for the demonstration. Please contact your professional branch to ask about transport options.
The Government Programme contains several proposals that will reduce the rights of social and health care workers
- Pay raises in the export branches would determine wages in other sectors – including those of nurses. Equal pay will not be achieved, but instead female-dominated sectors will be pushed into a perpetual wage gap. These changes will also restrict trade unions’ right of collective bargaining.
- Going forward, a fixed-term employment contract may be set for one year without any specific grounds. Stringing together multiple fixed-term employment contracts without justification increases job insecurity. Young people and women will be particularly affected by this. Discrimination related to pregnancy and family leave will also become more common.
- The provision of protection work in conflict situations will be governed by law. Our right to strike is at risk! The law will restrict the right to strike, especially in the social and health care sector. This amendment to the law is unnecessary as the legislation already ensures the provision of protective work.
- Employees’ protection against dismissal will be undermined. Going forward, mere substantive grounds would be sufficient to dismiss an employee on grounds related to their person, whereas currently both substantive and serious grounds are required. It will also make it easier to fire nurses. This will significantly reduce job security.
- The first day of sick leave is changed into unpaid leave. Employees will suffer a disproportionate loss of income and more people will come to work sick.
- The staff allocation of 0.7 for round-the-clock care will not enter into force until 1 January 2028.Nurses will get exhausted when there are too few colleagues. The sector will lose its capacity to attract and retain employees. The quality of care will be affected.
- The adult education allowance will be discontinued on 1 August 2024. The opportunities for nurses to seek further education will diminish. In the social, health care and early childhood education sector, this allowance has been extensively used for educational purposes, such as pursuing a Master’s degree at a University of Applied Sciences and undertaking specialised training.