The go­vern­ment’s ac­hie­ve­ments

The government’s achievements

During the last parliamentary elections, we promised to work hard for a more equal Finland. For a Finland that solves the climate crisis and protects its nature. We have kept these promises.

The achievements of the government are mutual but below are listed some achievements that are particularly important for the Left alliance. Thanks to these, Finland is a more just place for all, not just a fe.

The Left Alliance is a party that holds on to its values in all situations. That is why it is important to examine our work. These are the achievements that we are proud of.

The economy works and employs

 

  1. We got jobs for people! There are now 100 000 more employed people than we entered government. The level of employment is at a record high and it has exceeded the target set by the government. Finland is number one among Nordic countries with regards to the among of people that are employed full time.
  2. Our economic policies have been a success. Our policies have promoted a positive development with regards to employment and the economy. The public debt ratio started to decline in 2021 and, in light of current data, will continue to decline this year.
  3. We offered employment possibilities for the partially abled. This was done through Työkanava Ltd which is tasked with finding employment for those partially able in particularly difficult situations.
  4. We improved the position of those with a zero-hour contract. Henceforth, an employee shall be offered he employee must be offered an increase in the minimum working hours, if the number of working hours carried out and the employer’s need for the employee’s services demonstrate that the minimum working hours could be raised.
  5. We combatted tax evasion and elements of shadow economy with a number of bills. For example, we intervened in Caruna’s tax planning by tightening the right to deduct interest and by correcting the so-called balance release. We closed tax loopholes for foreign real estate investors so companies that are de facto managed in Finland paid their taxes in the country as well. Funds for cracking down. On tax evasion and the shadow economy have also been increased.
  6. We improved the legal protection of the unemployed. The grace periods were reduced significantly, and a single human error no longer leads to the loss of unemployment benefits.

    We prioritised the climate and nature!

  7. We made unprecedented investments in a fair transition. A comprehensive transition plan speeds up our quest to find solutions that will enable Finland to be carbon neutral in 2035 and to halt the depletion of biodiversity by 2030.
  8. We proposed a new mining tax. The tax would guarantee a fair compensation to society for profiting from natural resources.
  9. We expanded nature reserves. In Salla a new national park was founded. New and vast nature reserves have also been founded in Paltamo and Inari. Furthermore, the national park in Tiilakkajärvi has been expanded significantly.
  10. We made big investments in nature conservation. The government decided to increase the funding for conservation by 100 million euros per year. Municipalities and non-governmental organisations were given additional funds for nature conservation. 90 percent of the Metso program’s forest conservation goal has been achieved. 10,000 hectares of bog have been restored.
  11. We reformed legislation that emboldens climate legislation.
  12. We made sure that Finland cuts down on the use of peat by half by 2030. This goal will probably be realized much faster, as the energy use of peat is now rapidly decreasing.
  13. We reformed our legislation for animal protection. The new law promotes the wellbeing and respect of animals. Animal care must consider the behavioral needs to each species, and pain relief in all painful procedures. In addition, monitoring of animal welfare will be enhanced.

    Investments in social and healthcare services

  14. We carried out the long awaited social and healthcare reform in a just way. The previous government was not able to complete the reform and had problems with privatising parts of it. The reform works now based on public services and not based on the conditions of healthcare companies.
  15. We guaranteed that people should be able to get treatment on time. This was done by tightening the treatment guarantee in primary health care to seven days. Fast access to treatment and timely treatment is the most affordable and humane treatment. In the future, the assessment of the need for treatment must be done in one day, and if necessary, you should be able to see a doctor within seven days.
  16. In order to guarantee high quality services for the elderly we introduced legislation on staffing requirements.  Furthermore 130 million euros was allocated for the education of practical nurses.
  17. We introduced staffing requirements for child protection services. Each social worker may be responsible for a maximum of 35 children in 2022 and 2023 and a maximum of 30 children in 2024.
  18. We lowered the fees for healthcare services and expanded the free services within social care and healthcare. .

    Equality and solidarity!

  19. We introduced new legislation that increases the freedom of choice for families and increase parental leave. In the new model both parents have the right to an equally long period of 7 months of parental leave. One parent may however give up to three months of their parental leave to the other parent.
  20. We combatted the exploitation of foreign labor with more supervision. Henceforth the employer shall be punished for the exploitation of foreign labor, not the victim. The change in the law is significant and may lead to more cases of abuse to be revealed.
  21. Finland became a member in the UN United Nations Human Rights Council. During the three-year-long mandate period from 2022-2024 Finland will work to promote multilateralism and universal human rights for all.
  22. We increased the refugee quota. The quota is now at 1050 persons, which is historically high. The Left Alliance aims to continue increasing the quota. Furthermore, 40000 people fleeing Russia’s attack on Ukraine have received temporary protection.
  23.  We improved the legal protection for asylum seekers. During the previous government headed by Juha Sipilä, serious restrictions were introduced regarding the rights to use an assistant when meeting authorities and the appeal times. This eroded the credibility of the asylum process and trust in Finland’s rule of law.
  24. We reformed the legislation regarding Finland’s sexual penal code. The comprehensive reform of the sexual crime legislation strengthens everyone’s right to sexual self-determination. In the future, the definition of rape depends on the lack of consent. With the reform, the punishments for sexual crimes against children will also become tougher.
  25. We supported Ukraine and guaranteed that those who has fled the war and come to Finland were given the right to education and early childhood education.
  26. The new gender recognition law respects self-determination. With the new law correction one’s legal gender marking is based on the person’s own experience of their gender. The Left Confederation wants the law to also take minors into account in the future.
  27. We increased the funds for foreign aid.

    Education and culture for everyone, not just for the few!

  28. We prolonged the compulsory education until the age of 18 and made secondary studies free of charge. Now every young person has equal opportunities to complete a secondary degree. This reform is the most significant educational progress in Finland since creating the current primary school system.
  29. We secured the financing of culture, science and NGOs even though cutbacks were made to revenue from Veikkaus.
  30. We strengthened the support children receive in early childhood education through a three-level-model and funded the reform with 15 million euros annually.
  31.  We cut down on the fees within early childhood education by 140 million euros in total. In the future only, those with the biggest income will pay for early childhood education.
  32. We launched a two-year long pilot within early childhood education.
  33. We strengthened support for children and youth in school and set binding quotas for school-psychologists.
  34. We will improve the quality of vocational education by strengthening the basic funding by 80 million euros starting in 2023. In order to strengthen the level of education we have allocated a total of 250 million euros in funding for hiring additional teachers and instructors.
  35.  The funding for secondary schools was increased with 18 million euros.
  36. We carried out a quality promoting program in our gymnasiums with an additional funding of 15 million euros in order to ensure that the education is of high quality and accessible.
  37. We increased the funding of higher education and created 12,500 initial intakes to higher education.
  38. We tackled the shortage of skilled labor by implementing a reform promoting continuous learning, so that every working-age person would have better access to training during their working career.
  39. We established an equality grant for education as part of the legislation and distributed equality grants for early childhood education and pre-primary and basic education for around 250 million euros.
  40. We reinstated the subjective right to early childhood education and made group sizes in daycares smaller. Henceforthdaycare centers can have seven children per educator, while previously there could be eight children per one educator
  41. We tied the financial aid for students to the index and raised the financial aid paid out to parents who are studying.
  42. We increased research and development funding. The bill concerning R&D funding creates an avenue for the long-term increase of funding for research and development

    Everyone has the right to livelihood and making ends meet!

  43. We increased the basic securities for people by increasing the smallest pensions. We increased basic benefits such as unemployment insurance, sick and parental allowance, financial aid for students, rehabilitation allowance and childcare benefits for single parents.  We made increases to the national pension and guaranteed pension. For example, the guaranteed pension has increased by 137€/month including index increases. 
  44. We supported low income families and retirees when the cost of living was on the rise. We responded to the rise living costs caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine with a wide range of measures, such as increases in child benefits, additional child allowance, putting a price cap on the prices of medicine and a separate electricity subsidy..
  45. In the summer of 2022 we increased the social security benefits with 3,5 percent. Thanks to  the initiative of minister Sarkkinen index-linked benefits were adjusted for inflation. By doing so the national pension increased by €24/month, the labor market support and basic daily allowance by €26/month, the basic part of income support by €18/month and the financial aid for students by €14/month.
  46. When compared internationally, the Finnish government has succeeded quite well in tackling the corona crisis to the extent of being among the best in the world. We mitigated the epidemic with timely measures and at the same time ensured that jobs were preserved and people’s livelihood during the crisis.
  47. We tackled the rising prices within electricity distribution. Reforming the legislation regulating electricity distribution forced prices down and put a stop on pressure to increase fees. With the reform the highest allowed profit for electricity distribution companies is 40%,
  48. We compensated for the rising energy prices. Especially for those who live in houses with electric heating.
  49. We shortened the time during which records of default on one’s personal economy is being kept.  Since December, the payment default entry will be removed one month after the debt has been paid off. The status of the over-indebted will also be improved by increasing the number of months free from foreclosure and by experimenting with raising the foreclosure protection portion. Over-indebtedness is combated by introducing a positive credit information register and by tightening the regulation of consumer credit.
  50. We expanded social lending to the whole country. Social lending will be transferred to Wellbeing services counties and will be introduced throughout the country.