Finland’s productivity programme attracts foreign visitors to learn how savings are possible in state administration

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Based on a proposal compiled by officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Finnish government resolved in 2005 that the number of man-years worked in the state administration should be decreased by some 17,500 by 2011.
      Prior to the parliamentary elections in 2007, the government reduced the target to 9,645 man-years, while the next government again increased the number of reductions by 4,800. In other words, the current goal of jobs to be excised is now nearly 15,000 man-years.
      At the request of Parliament, the government decided at the beginning of the current year that the new 4,800 cuts would be made no sooner than by 2015. The reductions will be made in relation to the population at the end of 2005.
     
An outside consultant has assessed the Ministry of Finance’s productivity programme and is soon to submit an interim report, saying that the improvement in productivity would not be possible without a clear objective of redundancies, according to Under-Secretary of State Juhani Turunen, one of the architects of the productivity programme at the Ministry of Finance.
      ”The objective of man-year reductions has received a lot of criticism”, Turunen admits. The most vociferous opponents of the productivity programme include people from police departments (see linked article) and universities.
      According to the upcoming report, it will be difficult to implement the programme, but it is possible without any major drama, as the programme has taken into account the fact that during this decade an increasing number of employees will be retiring.
      Moreover, the decisions relating to the required reductions have been achieved through negotiations with various branches of administration, during which all branches have been assessed separately.
     
Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands have already sent their representatives to Finland in order to learn how it is possible to achieve savings in state administration.
      At the same time, productivity is also being discussed in connection with other projects, including the State regional administration reform.
      An example of the successful decisions relating to productivity is the reform at the Tax Administration, enabling taxpayers to make certain adjustments to their tax cards online.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Police facing loss of 600 posts in years ahead (18.01.2008)

Links:
  Government Strategy Document 2007 (.pdf file)

Helsingin Sanomat