Lauri Ihalainen, President
of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, SAK
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| Finland must immediately begin preparations for a new
employment programme, which will be a continuation of the 1995 employment programme, says
Lauri Ihalainen, President of the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, SAK.
Additionally, the decisions made jointly in the European Union, obliges Finland to act
systematically and strongly in order to improve employment, during the next four to five
years. How effectively the EU’s Structural Fund resources can be directed towards the
promoting of employment in Finland will pivot also very much on this programme. Ihalainen stresses, that Finland has already taken on board the EU’s demand concerning the systematical care of employment and despite the difficult economic and employment situation managed to decrease its rate of unemployment, clearly more effectively than the member countries on average. The incomes policy settlements of the last few years, have created good prerequisites for a stable and positive overall development of the economy. It is encouraging that social pacts, aiming at stabilising the economic development, are concluded in a growing number of European countries. In Finland the incomes policy is just reaching the age of 30. Ihalainen emphasises, that the improving of the employment situation must be the most important issue in European co-operation. Ihalainen is delighted that following the Luxembourg Employment Summit, improving the employment situation has, at last become one of the main issues of the EU’s co-operation, as SAK demanded before the Summit. High level representatives from both the labour market organisations and from the Member States will in future meet regularly to evaluate how the National Action Plans are implemented. The employment situation will be monitored in the same way as the convergence criteria of the Member States’ economies are, when preparing for EMU. The Member States are together committed to the reduction of unemployment and are responsible to their citizens. EU’s legitimacy in the eyes of the citizens is decisively depending on how employment develops. Without a clear improvement in employment also the enlargement of the Union is at stake. |
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