Serious grounds

A catalogue of Orpo-Purra Government cuts 

Changes that the Government is already preparing are shown in bold below. The Government aims to implement these within a year. Click on the links below for more details.

Erosion of working conditions

• There will be no pay for the first day of sick leave
• "Relevant grounds" will alone suffice for dismissing an employee
• Workplaces with no shop steward will be allowed to agree local employment conditions that fall below the statutory standard
• Special grounds will only be required for temporary employment when the job lasts for longer than one year
• Reduced powers of the national conciliator will make it harder to settle industrial disputes
• A shorter notice period will be required for temporary layoffs
• Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will have no duty to re-engage redundant workers when operations recover

Restrictions on the right to strike

• Restriction of political strike action
• Restriction of sympathetic strike action
• A fine of EUR 200 for individual strikers when a strike is found to be illegal
• A dramatic increase in union strike fines

Cuts in social welfare

• A longer employment condition for earnings-related benefit
• The employment condition of eligibility for unemployment benefit will be based on prior earnings instead of working time
• Child supplements in unemployment benefit will be abolished
• The benefit portion that is protected in part-time working will be abolished
• Eligibility for unemployment benefit will begin only after phasing of outstanding holiday compensation
• Earnings-related benefit will already be reduced after two months of unemployment
• The waiting period for unemployment benefit will be prolonged
• Wage-subsidised employment will no longer count towards the employment condition for earnings-related benefit
• Benefits will be reduced for unemployed elderly workers
• Job alternation leave will be abolished
• Adult education benefit will be abolished
• The housing allowance portion that is protected during part-time working will be abolished and the allowance will be reduced
• Income support will be cut and made subject to tougher eligibility conditions
• The parental allowance increase payable for the first 16 working days will be abolished *)
  *) Following a budget session, the Government announced on 19 September 2023 that it is seeking alternative measures.

Download and print the catalogue of cuts in English, Finnish and Swedish

Download and print the #SeriousGrounds publication in English, Finnish and Swedish

Download the #SeriousGrounds logos

Download the #SeriousGrounds logos in English, Finnish and Swedish from our Flickr channel.