Social security

Sufficient income in different life situations

Work does not always guarantee a sufficient income for living. In the service sectors, many people work part-time against their will, and the pay is insufficient. In such cases, the welfare state must secure a decent income for all. Society’s support network must be able to respond quickly to changing life situations and ensure a good life for everyone.

The level of security must be enough for a decent quality of life, which is why the lowest earnings-related allowances should be raised. The level of security must not be reduced, because that will increase poverty and inequality.

The support network should be more proactive than it is now, and it must take account of the challenges of multiple job-holding. Everyone must be able to assess the impact of income fluctuations on subsidies.

This increases the willingness to accept work, as there is no fear of falling outside the support network.

The support network needs to be simplified so that everyone knows where to seek support in different situations. For example, it would make sense to transfer the provision of the basic unemployment allowance from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) to unemployment funds. This would enable a one-stop-shop service for the unemployed, and there would be no unnecessary breaks in income when a person is transferred from earnings-related security to basic security.

Reasonably priced living

Housing is a significant and necessary cost item. In growth centres and in the Helsinki metropolitan area in particular, housing costs have already in practice exceeded the solvency of low-income and even medium-income workers. Very recently, the prices of owner-occupied homes have fallen slightly, but maintenance costs and thus rents and property management fees have risen. In some parts of Finland, the value of homes has decreased in recent years.

All this affects not only the daily lives of people in the service sectors, but also labour mobility. The forms of housing subsidies provided by society to low-income people must not be weakened, because they eventually enable low-income people to accept work. Cuts in housing subsidies will not generate more homes; they will only increase the recipients’ income difficulties.

Municipalities should increase the number of affordable homes and ensure a sufficient number of rental homes in planning. If high housing costs cannot be contained by other means, people on low incomes must be helped to manage their high housing costs by providing state subsidies.

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Egëzona Kllokoqi-Bublaku

sosiaalipoliittinen asiantuntija, Ennakoiva työehtotoiminta -osasto

egezona.kllokoqi@pam.fi

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