In an interview published in Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday, Minister of Social Affairs and Health Sinikka Mönkäre (SDP) suggested that the state should introduce employment incentives for unemployed people to accept even jobs on fixed-term contracts.
Mönkäre says that many long-term unemployed people have lost their self-esteem and hence given up their wish to have any kind of jobs. For them it is just a dream to receive even a short-term contract, even if it would often be the only way to re-enter the job market.
Minister Mönkäre urges the government to change the benefits and rules of the society so that they would better correspond to the real situation in the country. Consequently, the principles of granting unemployment benefits should be improved in such a way that employees would find it financially worthwhile to take up even a short-term job instead of remaining unemployed.
Mönkäre would encourage particularly "low productivity" jobs including work in the service sector as well as nursing positions. She said the government is now considering which incentives the state could afford, and whether the most effective means would be a tax cut, direct benefits, or a reduction in Social Insurance Institution (KELA) charges.
Mönkäre also said she supports the idea of extending the compulsory education age to 18 from the current 16, as well as extending the limit of child allowance payments from the age of 17 to 18. She believes that these measures would reduce the danger of young people becoming permanently marginalised.
