Trade unions and weak government create unemployment

We are in such a crisis today with almost 500 000 potential workers NOT working. Those who are working are having to pay ever increasing amounts to support the increasing numbers of unemployed with huge losses of business opportunities. Like many others, I have been watching unemployment rise every month. It is terrible to see young people unable to get jobs. It is terrible to hear about people over 50 unable to find new jobs. How do we get people jobs in the private sector? Many small companies cannot employ more staff because it costs too much and even then you have to deal with a huge amount of paperwork and of course it is too easy to “fall sick”. On Sundays and on public holidays, restaurants and small shops are closed because they cannot afford to keep staff on the payroll at 50%, 100% or 200% extra above their normal wages. The 15 big duopolies like Kesko, S-Group, Pohjola Bank, Nordea, etc, don’t have to worry too much about wage costs because they represent a smaller part of their turnover compared to small companies. Their staff costs are a big number for them every day. And big companies are pressing small entrepreneurs either because they want them to lower their prices or because they want to stop competition. The trade unions live in another universe. They only care about the ever reducing number of members who are at work in big companies. So what needs to be done? The most important thing is that people not only need to work but they must work. I cannot agree that some people are unemployable. It is a social duty to work and we do not have to listen to any excuses if a person is fit enough to walk once around the park. Getting people to work is more important than having too much government debt. It is more than having the right to strike. It is more important than having a small cut in wages. It is more important than the churches’ demands to have people resting on Sundays. And what is the government doing? They play games with the media to suit their short-term objectives. Half-truths are accepted as the new norm. They mess around for months with Greek debt. They play around with the unions for months without results. Voters are being hijacked by incompetent politicians and hopeless trade unions. How many strikes do we need in the next 12 months? Why do we need 317 municipalities when Sweden and Denmark get away with just over 100 on a relative basis? Why cannot they fix the health care system with 5 or 6 health care areas? Why do we allow at least 15 big Finnish companies to have dominant market shares equivalent to cartels in their own sectors? The present level of uncertainty in Finland for business, for SME’s, for ordinary people is awful. We need a new government that makes thoughtful plans and smart decisions. So many election promises have been broken – it would be more honest to have a non-political caretaker government or new elections than waiting in pain for cows to jump over the moon.