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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