The wishes articulated by Tehy members paint a bleak picture of the daily reality of social care, health care and education in Finland. Many simply hope to be able to carry out the work that they were trained to do without constantly rushing and worrying about cutting costs.
Many of the wishes highlight the adequacy of the number of personnel, the predictability of working hours, free time needed to rest, group sizes in early childhood education and adequate work clothing. People want shift planning to be more systematic and predictable. Many people simply want to be able to have a lunch break.
“This is the daily reality of the social care, health care and education sector in Finland. There is no time to do the job properly, no time to take lunch breaks and no time to rest between shifts. It’s no wonder that nurses struggle to cope. We have the best social care, health care and education professionals in the world, and they keep the entire welfare state going. We simply cannot afford to let them be worn out in these work conditions,” says Tehy President Millariikka Rytkönen.
A thousand wishes and then one
When Tehy asked its members to submit their wishes, Tehy also promised to add one on top of them all: pay corresponding to the difficulty of the work. However, pay kept popping up in the members’ own wishes in many ways, as well.
“One of our members worded their wish by saying that it would be nice to have some money left over to live after necessary expenses. Many also hope that work experience and education would actually be reflected in the pay. This is the case in many other occupations requiring qualifications, so why not in the health, social services and education sector?” Rytkönen asks.
The wishes are published so that the decision-makers, the media and all of Finland can see what the professionals of social care, health care and education need in order to cope in their work. Improving working conditions is the solution to having a sufficient number of motivated and skilled professionals.
Enquiries:
Tehy President Millariikka Rytkönen through Special Advisor Mila Huovinen,
tel. +358 40 054 0005, [email protected]