The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL strongly criticised the initiative taken by the authority to reduce staff of the Tampere City.
The city on August 18 started cooperation negotiations to reduce its manpower as a part of austerity measures to save about 10 million euros from the budget of the year 2026.
The JHL leaders observed that the quality of the residents’ daily life in Tampere may drop next year if the city carries out its plans for big personnel reductions.
JHL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mari Keturi said that the city is downplaying the effects of the planned personnel cuts.
“They use words like interface to the residents and efficiency improvements. But really cutbacks as drastic as these will mean things like even less staff at schools and daycare centres, and the people in Tampere will get less in return for their tax money. Dismissing 200 people will inevitably have a negative effect on services,” Keturi said.
Keturi also found it hard to understand that the city wants to avoid temporary lay-offs because it seeks permanent savings. This can lead to more terminations of employment because any savings are not achieved by the means of temporary lay-offs.
“Productivity can be improved without reducing employees by developing processes, eliminating unnecessary steps and making use of technology. When the employees’ skills are strengthened and they can influence their work and be involved in developing it, motivation and commitment increase. That way it is also possible to find cost savings together,” the JHL CEO said.
Keturi criticised the city’s Mayor’s Programme, in which tax increases are considered to be only the last resort in fixing the city’s finances.
“Is even a small tax increase really the greater evil compared to poorer services for all city residents?” Keturi threw a question.
JHL’s Chief Shop Steward Päivi Karjalainen said that the budget has been squeezed constantly.
However, now the city demands permanent savings.
“All possible savings have already been sought in the services earlier, and they are not enough,” Karjalainen said.
Karjalainen is certain that the city residents will see the consequences of the savings in their services.
- JHL
- Censures
- Tampere City
- Cut jobs
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
