Finnish trade unions continue their strike. The situation in the Finnish housing market worries experts. prepare Posting in CHAT: Russia Finnish unions continue strike On Wednesday, the board of SAK, Finland's central trade union association, decided that political strikes will continue for another week. Strikes by SAK and its unions against government reforms and welfare cuts began on 11 March. They were supposed to end at the end of March. They will now last for at least four weeks until April 7. Finnish trade confederation EK says SAK unions' decision to continue political strikes shows "total disregard". “SAK appears to be worsening its debt problem. A long strike worsens the situation not only of enterprises and workers, but also of the entire society. Production cuts and job losses increase the decline in tax revenues,” EK CEO Jüri Häkämis said in the press. The EC estimates that the ongoing strikes are causing almost €300 million in damage, and political strikes against the government have already caused almost two billion euros in damage to the gross national product. and at the same time sends a bad signal to foreign investors,” says Hyakamis. How does SAC justify strikes? “We asked the government of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo for justice and moderation. But the government doesn't listen to us. It still intends to pursue some business goals that negatively impact workers. Many of them do not affect employment or the balance of public finances,” SAK President Jarkko Eloranta said in a communiqué. The unions are ready to call off the strike at any time if the government "shows understanding of workers' concerns." “. The strikes, which blocked export ports and rail transport, also had a significant impact on fuel distribution. Neste, the Finnish oil refinery, announced on Tuesday that the continuation of the strike had begun to cause disruptions in fuel distribution at its stations and that the situation would worsen as strikes continued. “Due to the continuation of the political strike, the company will no longer be able to deliver supplies and sufficient quantities of fuel to consumers through its network of gas stations.” And on Wednesday, Neste updated the list of gas stations experiencing shortages of certain types of fuel. The list has increased compared to the previous day. As of Wednesday morning, the list included 9 regular gas stations and 19 heavy equipment service stations. “Scarcity raises prices” Gasoline prices in Finland have risen in some places to more than two euros per liter. According to the website Polttoaine.net, at the end of last week the average price of 95 gasoline was 2,007 euros, 98 gasoline was 2,113 euros, and diesel fuel was 2,033 euros per liter. In total, about 7,000 workers from the Finnish Industrial Association, the AKT Automotive and Transport Workers' Union, the Pami Service Workers' Union, the Construction Workers' Union, the JHL State and Social Workers' Union and the Finnish Electricians' Union are on strike. The SAC board will meet later to assess the situation and continue the strike after Easter. The inclusion of ports in the strike resulted in the inability to export products and shortages of many imported commodities. In the forestry industry, many factories were forced to temporarily close when exports at ports ceased. The strike affected industrial sectors such as the Outokumpu ports and factories in Tornio and the SSAB plant in Raahe, while silicon wafer manufacturer Okmetic ceased operations. Labor Minister Arto Satonen considers the information about the continuation of strikes serious, but not surprising. “The current strikes have resulted in many industrial plants being forced to cut production, resulting in production losses, as well as negotiations for changes and layoffs,” says Satonen. Earlier this week it was reported that due to the strikes, about 30 percent of companies in the industrial sector will be forced to shut down and reduce their activities, and about 30 percent of employees will have to be laid off. “Continued strikes mean that job losses will increase and new jobs will not be created when investment is suspended,” says the vice-president of the Finnish Technology Industry Association. – Every strike week means job losses. All in all, a very sad day, she says. Will the strikes last until the first of May? According to SAK President Eloranta, the strikes will end at the latest if and when the Labor Peace Law banning political strikes comes into force. The government hopes the laws will come into force before May. Cookhttps://www.hs.fihttps://www.hs.fihttps://www.mtvuutiset.fihttps://aftershock.news The situation in the Finnish housing market worries experts: “The question arises who can afford housing” All More and more young people believe that owning a home does not make financial sense. This is proven by the results of a recent study commissioned by Danske Bank. High home prices, income levels and lack of savings make it difficult to buy a first home. However, interest in purchasing apartments remains high, the study showed. Researcher Timo Kauppinen, director of the National Institute for Health and Welfare THL, and Marie Vaattovaara, professor of urban geography at the University of Helsinki, discussed changes in the housing market. According to THL's Kauppinen, a similar trend has long been observed in other countries: high rental rates make it difficult to save up to buy a first home. Marie Vaattovaara notes that the situation for homeowners has also become more difficult due to rising interest rates, energy and property taxes. The desire to buy housing is limited by rising prices. – Housing for people is more than a financial issue. Basic security and social peace were built there. The question arises as to who can afford housing, says Vattovaara. Supply and demand The government's decision to cut housing subsidies comes into force next Monday. Changes to housing support and unemployment benefits will affect about half a million Finns. The day of change is already being felt in the rental market as people begin to look for more affordable housing. Even greater tension is yet to come. From the beginning of next year, Finns will no longer receive housing to cover the cost of living in their own home. In addition, the Ara government wants to reduce the construction of cheaper housing and stop subsidizing new housing. Experts are concerned about the current trend of simultaneous weakening of both social benefits and rental housing. “Currently, both demand and supply are declining,” says Vattovaara. According to Timo Kauppinen, spending cuts will further widen the gap between people with low and high incomes, since people with low incomes will be more likely to have to look for housing that matches their income level in low-income areas. Subsidies flow to investors According to Vaattovaara, the Finnish housing market has developed a situation where one's own housing is not subsidized, but other people's housing is subsidized indirectly, through support for tenants. “In terms of the housing market as a whole, this is a pretty wild moment. I would venture to say that in terms of segregation and lowest incomes, the housing market as a whole is broken. Vaattovaara, together with demographer Pekka Vuori, conducted a study on the development of the housing market. “At the same time, the number of homeowners decreased and all the smallest houses became investment apartments,” says Vattovaara. An extreme example is Tampere, where, according to the study, out of almost 9,000 new one-room apartments, just over 300 became available to owners. The vast majority, about 7,000 private homes, went to investors. /aftershock.news Source link Source link
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A Finnish company does business with Russia and makes significant profits – Russia today Posting in CHAT: Russia Article by Finnish State Television and Radio: The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for three years. At the same time, rail transportation of Russian nickel and fertilizers to Finland continues. The closure of passenger traffic on the eastern border since November last year has not stopped transportation. This was not prevented by the ongoing political strike. The SAK union strike, which will last until the end of March, has led to the closure of Finnish ports and rail freight traffic. However, this did not stop the transport of nickel. Ile found out who runs the transport business. If something is not prohibited, it is allowed. Finland adheres to the general EU sanctions policy. Currently, Russian nickel and fertilizers are not subject to sanctions. Finland is the only channel for the supply of Russian nickel to the European Union. 97.5% of nickel imported into the EU from Russia passes through Finland. In 2023, 84% of all Russian imports into Finland were nickel, and in 2022 the value of Russian nickel ore imports was even higher at €1.740 million. Last year, 24% of the nickel used in the EU continued to come from Russia. Both raw materials are critical. The EU and Western countries consider them essential for global food production and industry, especially for the transition to a green economy. Why can't the EU get rid of Russian nickel? “The alternative would be even greater dependence on Indonesian and Chinese nickel produced using fossil energy,” the expert says. According to him, China is quite aggressive in the nickel market, and Canadian nickel mainly goes to the needs of American industry. Imports are carried out on the basis of a state agreement on railway transport between Finland and Russia. Nickel is transported to the Norilsk Nickel Haryavalta plant. This plant is the only Russian nickel plant in the EU and is part of the giant Russian mining and metallurgical group Norilsk Nickel. The owner of Norilsk Nickel, Potanin, is on the sanctions lists of the US, UK and Canada, but not the EU. Copper ore obtained from nickel processing is exported from Harjavalta back to Russia for further processing as part of the intra-group operations of the Norilsk Nickel group. Fertilizers are delivered from Russia to the port of Kotka. According to Yle, the Russian port operator Fertilog oy is responsible for loading at the port. The company did not respond to messages from Yle. Nurminen Logistics: It's about patriotic work The transport of nickel and fertilizers from the Vainikkala border station is carried out by North Rail oy, a subsidiary of Nurminen Logistics oyj. Nurminen Logistics is a group of companies providing long-distance transport and logistics services. The company is engaged in rail freight transport in Finland and abroad. The company's owners include Finland's largest pension company. Nurminen Logistics makes significant profits from transporting Russian raw materials to Finland. Nurminen Logistics shares became the best-performing stock on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 2023. In the winter of 2023, a subsidiary company, North Rail, was created to service freight transport from Russia to Finland. The company claims to be Finland's largest private railway company. Previously, transportation was carried out by the company VR, which stopped cargo transportation after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine. For some time, the Estonian state company Operail Finland oy was engaged in transportation. Transport services continued even during the SAK union strike, which brought rail services to a standstill. In a Yle post, Nurminen Logistics explains the importance of transport during a strike. The company writes that “some transport operations were ordered by the Finnish authorities for protective purposes.” The company says it is involved in "this patriotic work." Protection means necessary work other than a strike to protect life, limb or property which may be particularly endangered during a strike. Üle asked Nurminen Logistics to clarify which authorities were being referred to. The company did not respond. The situation is very strange. Traficom, which is responsible for issuing major rail licences, the Center for Security of Supply, the Ministry of Economy and Employment, the Foreign Office sanctions team, the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Prime Minister's Office were unable to provide any information on the order. None of these bodies made decisions about transportation during the strike, Ihle said. The CEO of the parent company has ties to Russia. North Rail's largest shareholder is parent company Nurminen Logistics with a 79.8% stake. Investors own the remaining 20.2%. One of the investors, Olli Pohjanvirta, has worked with large companies in Russia for a long time. Pohjanvirta is a member of the board of directors of the investment bank Norte Capital oy. According to the company, its main defendants are Finnish citizens of Russian origin. The company states that its place of business is Helsinki. Yle asked the largest owners of Nurminen Logistics how they justify their participation in the transportation of Russian nickel and fertilizers. Nurminen Logistics' largest shareholder is Suka Invest oy (16.17 percent), whose spokesman said: “We continue to believe that the company operates in an ethically and environmentally responsible manner and, moreover, that it is financially profitable. Finland's largest pension insurance company Ilmarinen is the second largest owner of the company with a stake of 14.92%. Ilmarinen Deputy CEO Mikko Mursula, who is responsible for the company's investments, responded to Yle: "Through active participation we can influence our investments." We can highlight the resilience that drives business growth or the risk factors that hinder it. According to Mursula, it is important for Ilmarinen that the companies they own comply with the sanctions. “We do not agree that business with Russia should be done in order to avoid sanctions,” Mursula writes in his message. No political will Finland is also a channel for Russian fertilizers through the port of Kotka. In 2023, fertilizers worth €5.5 million were imported from Russia to Finland. According to customs data, the amount has decreased since 2022, when it was 93.3 million euros. Finland is still a small factor compared to the Baltic countries. In 2023, about eight million euros of Russian fertilizers passed through Estonia, 11 million euros from Latvia, and 40 million euros from Lithuania. Volumes in the Baltics also decreased significantly compared to 2022. The figures come from information requested by Yle from Eurostat. More and more fertilizers are exported via Finland, mainly to Africa and South America. cookhttps://yle.fihttps://aftershock.news Source link Source link
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The Finnish fence on the border with Russia will be raised by another 74 million – Russia today Posting in CHAT: Russia News | 21 03 2024, 21:19 | SeverPost Photo: SeverPost / Irina Shved The Border Service may be allocated an additional 74 million euros for the construction of a fence on the border with Russia. This money is needed for the rapid construction of the barrier. For this purpose, funds reserved for 2025 will be transferred for construction in 2024. In addition, an additional 12.174 million euros are needed to improve the effectiveness of controls at border crossing points. The Finnish Ministry of the Interior presented proposals for additional funding to Parliament on 21 March 2024. Let us remind you that Finnmark wants to create new no-fly zones on the border with Russia. Read also: Sør-Varanger terminated its sister city agreement with the Pechenga district. To be the first to know about the main news and most important events of the day, subscribe to our Telegram channel. Source link Source link