Parliament passes text of patient protection bill

Union announces expansion of resignation campaign

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Parliament voted in the early hours of Tuesday to pass the text of proposed legislation that would restrict the scope of industrial action by nurses.
      The first reading of the bill for a "patient protection law" began at 2:00 PM Monday and lasted about 12 hours. In the vote at 2:00 AM Tuesday 23 Parliamentarians were absent.
      If it is passed in its final reading, the measure would allow authorities to order nurses taking part in a stoppage to do jobs seen as necessary for the survival of patients.
      About 12,000 nurses affiliated with the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy) are threatening to resign en masse on Monday next week to back demands for higher pay. On Monday Tehy announced plans to expand the action later, with resignation announcements involving 3,600 health care professionals.
     
The votes in Parliament had to be concluded last night, because otherwise it would not have been possible for the bill to become law in time for Monday's planned launch of Tehy's industrial action.
      As the vote in the first reading was delayed until early Tuesday, the second reading will take place early Friday, as two full days have to fit between the first and second reading.
      In the second reading the opposition Left Alliance plans to move to reject the bill in its entirety. However, as the Constitutional Law Committee felt that the bill can be passed by a simple majority, is considered unlikely that the opposition will succeed in preventing its passage. This means that the bill would be ready for the President to sign on Friday morning.
     
As Parliament was debating the patient protection measure, the executive committee of Tehy announced an increase in the number of nursing staff planning to take part in the resignation campaign.
      On Tuesday the union plans to submit the names of about 3,600 nurses who are to join the ranks of the approximately 12,000 who have already submitted resignations.
      The second wave of threatened resignations is to be implemented in two phases. Just over half of the nurses involved have contracts with a two-week period of notice; their resignations would take effect on November 27th. The remaining 1,800 would leave their jobs on December 13th, following their one month period of notice.
     
Tehy organisation chief Kirsti Viljakainen said on Monday that the announcement was not specifically timed to coincide with Monday's Parliamentary debate.
      She said that the idea was to encourage the municipal employers to resolve the dispute some other way than through legislation. "The purpose is to speed up the negotiations, where nothing is happening."
      However, she added that the bill that was being debated in Parliament made it easier for Tehy to make its decision.
     
Minister of Finance Jyrki Katainen (Nat. Coalition Party) is not promising any further financing for nurses' pay hikes. He also said on Monday that he believes that a settlement will be reached before Monday.
      "It would be sensible for the compromises that might be made several weeks from now, to be made this week", Katainen told Helsingin Sanomat.
      Katainen, who is also the Chairman of the National Coalition Party, reiterated his denial that his party would have made unfounded promises during the election campaign of higher pay for professional women.
      "My conscience is clean", he said.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Government prepares legislation to keep some nurses at work (6.11.2007)
  Mediation board begins efforts to reach settlement in labour dispute between nurses and municipal employers (1.11.2007)
  Government-sponsored patient safety bill fast-tracked in Parliament (12.11.2007)
  Government introduces legislation to limit planned mass resignations of nurses (9.11.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat