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22.03.2023 20:30

Let’s vote to Parliament people who know services sector reality

Annika Rönni-Sällinen hopes those elected to parliament would know the reality of services sector. She encourages everyone to use their right to vote in the election.

We in Service Union United PAM have a unique membership demographic. We have many women, youth, immigrants and part-time workers as members. Statistics say there’s little part-time work in Finland, but in our industry there’s a lot. So, for decision-makers part-time work might seem like a marginal issue, while it has a huge impact on many PAM members lives.

Low wages and part-time work affect everyday life in many ways. If you have little money and making ends meet is difficult, then it can be hard to stand your ground at work. Many get adjusted unemployment benefit and at times social assistance. Public education, social services and health care – their quality and accessibility – are important because few can afford private options.

We started collective agreement negotiations already last year with the aim of securing more fair terms and conditions of employment and higher wages for service sector workers.

"The opportunity to negotiate minimum terms and conditions for all workers in an industry is not a given."

The opportunity to negotiate these minimum terms and conditions for all workers in an industry is not a given. It’s possible thanks to legislation that guarantees the right to collective bargaining, the right to strike, general applicability of collective agreements, and that prohibits discrimination based on union activity.

This legislation is decided by Parliament. Parliament has adopted the laws and can also change them as long as ILO’s minimum requirements are met. The same goes for unemployment security and other services. Parliament can change the rules and the financing.

Parliamentary elections are here. Political parties and candidates have different proposals. There are proposals that unemployment benefits gradually become smaller, to leave some workers uncovered by collective agreements and much more. These are issues that surely affect many of you, our members.

I hope as many people as possible who know the reality of services sector work or are willing to take it into account in decision-making are elected to parliament.

"Every vote makes a difference for what kind of decisions we can expect from Parliament in future."

About 4.5 million Finnish Citizens have to right to vote in these elections. Every vote makes a difference for what kind of decisions we can expect from Parliament and the Government that is formed based on the election result.

Use your vote!

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PAM's governing bodies

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