WORK-LIFE-BALANCE ECONOMY TUULI SALONEN, SOCIAL POLICY SPECIALIST

Transcription

1 WORK-LIFE-BALANCE ECONOMY TUULI SALONEN, SOCIAL POLICY SPECIALIST

2 WHAT IS SAK? Three trade union confederations in Finland: SAK, about members, mostly blue collar STTK, about members, salaried employees AKAVA, about members, highly educated people All have members in all sectors (public and private, industry and services). Trade unions in Finland High trade union density (75 %). High collective bargaining density (90 %). Trade unions in Finland take part on the negotiations of social policies, for example parental leaves, pensions and unemployment issues

3 WHAT IS WORK-LIFE-BALANCE ECONOMY? Economy and society that promotes the wellbeing of people in order to have economic growth and sustainable economic development Wellbeing in the broad mind set Social Physical Financial Wellbeing is promoted by policies and services that creates work-life-balance

4 POLICIES TO PROMOTE WELL-BEING, EMPLOYMENT AND EQUALITY Gender equality Both parents share in childcare and work Equality both at the workplace and inside the family Employment Both men and women are needed at work Higher employment rate Larger pool from which to find suitable employees Wellbeing Equality in the family promotes wellbeing Two earners means more money for the family and more tax revenue for the state

5 FAMILY POLICIES IN FINLAND 1/4: PARENTAL LEAVE AND EARNINGS-RELATED PARENTAL ALLOWANCES Earnings-related: about 75 % of previous salary. Divided into three parts: four months for mother two months for the father six months to be divided between mother and father Benefits: Allows sufficient homecare without significant drop in income Enables fulfilling breastfeeding recommendations Promotes gender equality by encouraging fathers to take part

6 FAMILY POLICIES IN FINLAND 2/4: EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION GIVES THE CONFIDENCE TO USE PARENTAL LEAVE In Finland pregnant women and parents on parental leave are protected against job loss Can only be fired in exceptional circumstances, such as personal misconduct or entire company is closed After the parental leave the employee has a legal right to return to his or her old position Benefits: Makes looking for a job before having children more tempting Gives employees the confidence to have children Gives employees the confidence to use right to parental leave

7 FAMILY POLICIES IN FINLAND 3/4: SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE ENABLES A RETURN TO THE WORK PLACE Right to parental leave until child turns three years old Compensation after earnings-related allowance is smaller About 340 euro per month, or 11 % of the median salary Higher if more kids or family income low Heavily subsidized daycare available Low cost: 0 to 290 euro per month Benefits: Most return to work and put child to daycare

8 FAMILY POLICIES IN FINLAND 4/4: COMBINING WORK AND FAMILY WITH FLEXIBLE CARE ALLOWANCE For some families binary choice between fulltime work or staying at home is not optimal Parents of children less than three years old have a right to part-time work To compensate for the lower salary a flexible care allowance is paid to the employee hours are reduced by 20 %: allowance is 160 euro/month (5 % of median salary) hours are reduced by 40 %: allowance is 240 euro/month (7 % of median salary). Benefits: Allows earlier return to work for parents who would not be comfortable returning to fulltime work Allows for flexibility Eases transition to fulltime work

9 OTHER MEANS TO PROMOTE WORK-LIFE-BALANCE 1/3: SUBSIDIZED EDUCATION IS A SIGNIFICANT FORM OF CHILD ALLOWANCE Without subsidies education would be prohibitively expensive for some families Financial status would restrict number of children or level of education provided Education policy in Finland: Free education up to and including university A study grant is paid to all students to help offset the costs of living Students are not financially dependent on parents Benefits: Decisions regarding family size can made without concern about education costs All young people have access to education, ensuring that human potential is not unnecessarily wasted

10 OTHER MEANS TO PROMOTE WORK-LIFE-BALANCE 2/3: OLD-AGE BENEFITS FREE YOUNGER GENERATIONS TO WORK Pensions and elderly care alleviate the need of younger generations to personally care for their parents and grandparents Enables younger generations to stay in paid employment when parents need help Frees them to move in search of a job further away from their parents Leaving the responsibility with children puts many senior citizens at a disadvantage Childless seniors can t rely on children All senior citizens should have access to good care regardless of their children s means or desire to help

11 OTHER MEANS TO PROMOTE WORK-LIFE-BALANCE 3/3: PENSIONS AND HEALTH CARE SYSTEM PROVIDE SAFETY IN OLD AGE Statutory, earnings-related, mandatory, defined-benefit pension systems Practically all have decent pension: personal investment choices or lack of saving do not lead to old-age poverty Municipalities have responsibility for health care and long-term care Benefits: All have equal access to good care Pension system protects against old-age poverty and personal financial reliance on children Children have liberty to move to cities to work even if parents are in need of care

12 CONCLUSION: SOCIAL SAFETY NET CAN PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT Primary purpose is of the social safety net is to alleviate poverty, promote wellbeing, support families, etc. Work-life-balance requires services and social benefits However, well-designed policies can also promote employment and economic growth Examples: Family policies maternity benefits paternity benefits subsidized child care Subsidized education Old-age benefits

13 WORK-LIFE-BALANCE IN FINLAND In Finland work-life-balance is on good ground, but there is still work to be done Added flexibility in parental benefits Gender equality in should be promoted more actively in the use of parental leaves Child care is quite expensive Might push people away from employment Aging society leads to increased cost of elderly care Might lead to overemphasizing homecare of elderly people as a social policy which would be a huge step back from work-lifebalance for younger people

14 THANK YOU!