“I say directly that the reality where we do all this is not possible,” Saarikko told STT.
According to the news agency, Saarikko has also presented the possibility of reducing income tax in the past, but has failed to make promises, although the reasons for the measure have been upset.
– Of course, you also have to think about where the state gets its income if the income tax is reduced. Then other responsible stakeholders in society must also make sure that they do their part, ”he said, referring to stakeholders such as social partners.
The labor market situation in Finland is challenging. The social partners have not yet reached an agreement on the salaries of nurses and the private sector is due to start collective bargaining in the autumn. The unions have quarreled with each other, and each in turn declares that it is content with less than the other unions have been promised.
“The Ministry of Finance is naturally preparing for the autumn and we are following the discussion on the upcoming round of wage negotiations with concern. I suspect I will be the first finance minister to demand wage moderation, but I urge that.
He recalled that history has shown what can happen if social partners are too aggressive.
“Because energy prices are the cause [current] inflation, it is not good to accelerate inflation further with high wage contracts. Inflation is a spiral and should be avoided, Saarikko said.
He revealed that he was increasingly confident that everyone of working age and able to work should be working in Finland. The government has submitted an incomplete proposal on the transfer of employment services to municipalities, and according to Saarikko, it should ensure that it receives the proposal for parliamentary consideration by the end of the parliamentary term.
“It’s close, but we have to find time to do it. It’s a big restructuring, the employment impact of which has been reduced by the Ministry of Finance,” he told BTI.
Saarikko saw that it is not important to focus on individual employment measures, but on fostering companies’ confidence in the future and securing the availability of labor. He emphasized that the Center was ready to implement the wide-ranging reforms needed to increase labor migration.
“I don’t think the current Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) can solve this. The agency aims to overcome obstacles, while efforts are now being made to absorb talent. Things have moved in a better direction, but we need a big change of thinking.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page