Comment: This opinion piece in Warkauden Lehti was written by Social Democrat MP Kari Rajamäki. If Wille Rydman is the Halla-aho of the Kokoomus party, Rajamäki is that of the Social Democrats. He would be more than happy to take a very tough stand on immigration. His message is a simple one: Don’t trust immigrants because they are a threat to Finland. If more come they will forces wages to plunge.
He has accused African refugees fleeing war as social welfare “shoppers.”
Even though Rajamäki is one of the main mentors behind the controversial “maassa maantavalla,” his anti-immigration scare tactics have not gone down well with voters. The latest polls show the Social Democrats at record-low levels.
Do you agree with Rajamäki that immigration will force wages to plummet in Finland?
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Edellisen hallituksen selkeä linjaus Suomessa ja EU:ssa oli, että maahanmuuton määrällinen ja laadullinen hallinta on välttämätöntä työmarkkinoiden vakauden ja sisäisen turvallisuuden näkökulmasta. On ollut surullista nähdä, että nykyisen hallituksen aikana tämä ei ole ollut enää arvo vaan tietoisesti on rakennettu kaksia työmarkkinoita – halpatyömarkkinoita.
Ennakko- ja jälkivalvontaan ei ole riittävästi resursseja. Tuottavuusohjelma vähentää maahanmuuttoviraston, työvoimatoimistojen ja työsuojeluvalvonnan voimavaroja. Vähennykset on toteutettu kaavamaisesti välittämättä seurauksista. Tullin, verottajan, työsuojelun ja keskusrikospoliisin henkilöstöleikkaukset vaarantavat meidän kaikkien arjen turvallisuutta. Mielenkiintoista on keskusrikospoliisin kokemat voimavarojen leikkausuhat juuri tällä ratkaisevalla hetkellä, jolloin myös talousrikostutkinta on ulottunut politiikan ja hallinnon rakenteisiin.
On hämmästyttävää, että sisäministeri ja poliisijohtaja eivät ole joutuneet vastaamaan tästä tilanteesta. Huolestuttavaa suomalaista arkea on, että poliisi lopettaa tutkinnan, vaikka yhteiskunta ja työntekijät menettävä suuria summia. Työsuojelutoimintaa on heikennetty kohtuuttomilla henkilöstövähennyksillä, mikä käytännössä estää tehokkaan työehtojen valvonnan. Tarvitsemme laaja-alaisen myös tulevaisuuteen luotaavan harmaan talouden torjuntaohjelman, jossa määritellään selkeät tavoitteet ja voimavarat viranomaisille, sekä yhteystyömallit työmarkkinajärjestöjen kanssa.
Kovaa linjaa kuvaa se, että Kokoomus ja Keskusta esittävät, että eduskunta vielä ennen vaaleja hyväksyisi työnantajille mahdollisuuden vapaasti tuoda työntekijöitä EU:n ulkopuolelta. Suomeen voisi mikä tahansa yritys tuoda kenet tahansa mille tahansa alalle ja alueelle töihin ilman, että selvitetään onko omassa maassa työttömiä ja koulutettavia kyseisiin tehtäviin. Toteutuessaan se räjäyttäisi työmarkkinoittemme ongelmat.
Lyhytnäköinen, työnantaja-näkökulmaa palveleva sinivihreä maahanmuuttopolitiikka vauhdittaa edelleen pimeän ulkomaisen työvoiman käyttöä, lisää ulkomaisen työvoiman syrjäytymistä ja harmaata taloutta sekä heikentää turvallisuutta ja taloudellisen toiminnan edellytyksiä. Turvallisuuden kannalta on vakava asia, jos ei edes ydinvoimalan rakennustyömaalla välttämättä tiedetä kuka porukkaa hankkii ja kuka haalarin sisällä on.
Verojen ja maksujen laiminlyönti ja työntekijöiden oikeuksien polkemista katsotaan käytännössä sormien läpi. Etenkin rakennus, ravintola- ja kuljetusaloilla ongelma on mittava. Maahanmuuttajavaltaisilla aloilla on kahdet työmarkkinat, joilla maahanmuuttajien oikeuksia poljetaan ja rikotaan laillisia työsuhteiden ehtoja. Käytännön välinpitämättömyydellä ja torjunnan heikentämisellä on halpatyömarkkinat ja suomalaisten työehtojen heikentäminen tietoinen valinta.
Näin on jos sallimme, että kuka tahansa Euroopan talousalueen kansalainen voi perustaa 75 eurolla toiminimen ja teettää töitä alle työehtojen, maksamatta senttiäkään veroja ja maksuja Suomeen.
Vääristyneen kilpailuaseman ohella meillä esiintyy nyt jo selkeästi työorjuuden ja ihmiskaupan piirteitä. Hallituksen kaavailema saatavuusharkinnan poisto kärjistää tilanteen lopullisesti irti käsistä. Tämän vuoksi SDP edellyttää ulkomaisen työvoiman osalta aina kotimaassa olevan työvoiman sekä nuorten työttömien kouluttamisen kautta saatavan työvoiman ensisijaisuutta.
Turvattomuus työelämässä ja suomalaisten työehtojen heikentäminen halpatyömarkkinoiden kautta, ei rakenna sitä kansallista eheyttä, jolla sosiaalisesti oikeudenmukainen uuden Suomen ja talouden jälleenrakennus onnistuu.
Turvallista uutta vuotta!
I should comment on this at greater length, but for now let’s just notice a few minor points, beginning with the non sequitur between paragraphs 4 and 5. If businesses were free to import workers from anywhere in the world, then how could this increase the use of unlicensed foreign labour?
This is like saying that more motorists would park illegally if there were no illegal parking zones.
It would be useful to have more details of the alleged Coalition and Centre Party proposal to which Kari Rajamäki is referring, as I am aware of no government bill seeking to allow employers vapaasti tuoda työntekijöitä EU:n ulkopuolelta, and I strongly suspect that Rajamäki is misrepresenting a scheme that requires employers to show that vacancies have been properly and adequately advertised through the mol.fi system before a residence permit can be issued to a foreign job applicant.
This replaces an older corporatist model that has never worked effectively. Indeed the new arrangement is a far more concrete and effective form of saatavuusharkinta than has ever been previously applied.
Paragraph 1 is a matter of opinion. This is the author’s perception of practice, as opposed to a report of declared government policy.
Paragraphs 2 and 3 seem to me to be substantially correct, and to the extent that the rest of the piece makes sense, it is as a commentary to these failings.
Paragraph 7 shows disgraceful ignorance of the procedure for establishing a business enterprise and of the present system governing migration of third-country nationals for employment.
“He has accused African refugees fleeing war as social welfare “shoppers.””
Well, how many safe countries an African “fleeing war” has passed before reach Finland?
Also…
If they are “fleeing war” why just after they get their refugee status they start to go back there, twice an year, at least, for holidays?
If the place is dangerous for them, why they keep sending their children there to be des-westernized. The place is dangerous for them but not for their children?
lol@Tony the Toby
And your view on the Warkauden Lehti contribution is…?
Ah – that’s right – you are totally clueless, but still you feel that you must say something anyway.
Boy, are you in for some culture shock if they ever let you into Finland.
This Tony is funny 🙂
Of all the parties from to the True Finns to Kokoomus there is fair indication to who will will be forming a government next year and who will not of all theses parties the SDP is the one where it is difficult to say “Yes” or “No”. The polls show the public agree with views of Kari Rajamäk but many people have lost interest in parties like the SDP .
It is foolish to connect an anti immigration view of someone with the party, apart from the True Finns the immigration issue has divided many parties on which way to go with this issue.
If you are asking questions about Kari Rajamäki then the question is if his party is not asked to join the government but the True Finns are will he use his anti immigration views to join them.
Hi KRPOP, and welcome to Migrant Tales. Do you think that there is such an indication that the True Finns will romp in the next election? Polls are polls. Let the ballot boxes speak.
There are many fine politicians in the SDP. I am surprised and disappointed that that one group led by Eero Heinäluoma and Kari Rajamäki believe that a stronger anti-immigration stance will help the party win votes. This has backfired as a strategy.
The SDP are divided into two camps: anti-immigration (Heinäluoma, Rajamäki and others) and more positive on immigration (Tuomioja, Jaakonsaari and others). This rift has divided the party and confused the voters about what the SDP’s stance is. For now it looks like a good-cop-bad-cop party. Who would have thought twenty years ago that some left-wing parties have become reactive to immigration?
When I lived in Madrid the Socialists had at least the cortesy to thank the immigrants for all the work they did for Spain’s economic growth.
I don’t expect True Finns to romp the next election but I think the numbers of seats they will win means they could be a thorn in the side of any collation that does invite them, if they where to ask to join they will join as one of the middle or smaller parties (who ever else will be part of that collation is open to debate)
But with immigration as the key issue and the true Finns the only party who have seem to got a balance within the party on this issue are having a easy time. With only a few months to go to the next election not just the SDP but other parties are still divided on this issue which they should have sorted this out months ago.
The “Immigration issue” in Finland is unique to many other countries in Europe where its more of a issue of a an person within the party than as an issue of the party. But parties on the left where naive in thinking that it would never become a issue in Finland, where parties on the right like True Finns and Kokoomus even though they never had polices on this issue where always aware that in other countries it had become a issue and it would be only a matter of time when Finland would also be involved in that debate.
I have lived in other countries across Europe and I am surprised with a low percentage of immigrants, not only did immigration became a election issue but how it became one over a short space of time
But I do think that people coming into Finland to beg on the streets, the economic downturn all which have happened around the same period of time are a few factors why its become a issue in the negative over a very short space of time.
And where the parties of the right have had a position tucked away for when this happens the parties on the left did not and now we are seeing not just parties divided on this subject , could say that the anti immigration members within the SDP are not making any head way in the polls as a good thing but where the True Finns are having the opposite effect shows that the left over next few months have to seriously define themselves and show where there hope to take Finland over the next parliamentary term because if they try to play like the parties of the right they are seriously going the wrong way …
KRPOP, immigration has been an issue all the time in Finland. It just hasn’t got the publicity it has today. You speak of left-wing parties being naive. When Jarmo Rantanen and Kari Rajamäki, both Social Democrats that were interior ministers, had very tough stances on immigration. And then if we go back a bit and look at how the Finnish government treated Russian asylum seekers in the Cold War we get a picture of a nation that has never thought about the benefits of immigration. The thing that has changed in the immigration debate is the anti-immigration wing of the True Finns led by Halla-aho. What these people are saying is that (a) immigration is a threat and (b) a greater threat if they are Muslims. I think that Finns are getting pretty tired of this rhetoric.
You point of view, which I respect, is a reflection of what some Finns think: Immigration is negative. I personally think it is a mistaken view especially coming from a country that saw over a million people emigrate to other countries in the from 1860-1999. This part of the discussion seems to be forgotten conveniently. Instead we are always conveying the same message: Immigration is a threat.
I was generally talking about in the last 10-20 years when parties where electoral gains off the immigration issue across Europe I dont think that the left or centre thought that would happen over here .Matti vanhanen Said that he hoped that immigration would not be a issue in Finland where it is in other countries It has, I personally find that naive that that a man who spends time in other European countries thinks that’s that those issues wont be brought into Finland pro or anti immigration it still would become a debate and not just happen.
Finnish people don’t think immigration is all negative. The problem I think Finns have is that politicians on this subject like I said are confused and divided on this issue the only party or parties who have a balance or straight answers like it or not are coming through the anti immigration view (the greens seem to be the only party on the left who have presented immigration policies) . Thats why I think we are going into the election with immigration being a negative rather than positive in the driving seat
KRPOP, yes, true. The problem in Finland is that nobody has tackled the issue in a meaningful way. The policy of the government(s) has been apathetic. One of the consequences of such a policy has been our aging population and the fact that we will be forced to work more years. If you would have had a proactive and effective stance on immigration some of these issues would be less of a problem today.
Well, the point is, do we thrust the left with vitals things like immigration or national security? I don’t think so.
The US is a great example of how we can’t thrust the left. During campaign Mr. Hussein has promised revert all the policies from the war on terror, well witch policy has been reverted so far? Actually we should thank him for lying about this.
Other good example is the Ground Zero Mosque case, first he said the the Mosque is ok, than after Americans said “what a hell?”, he comes and “well, I didn’t quite mean that, I was too drunk, you know”.
So thrust the left is like having a snake as a pet, you may think you’re safe but when you less expect you’re doomed.
Finland needs a wise immigration policy, one that take in consideration Finland’s best interest, and the only party that can delivery it is Kokoomus, but unfortunately, only after feel the heat from the True Finns. That’s why next election is so important, in my opinion, the most important in our life time.
HS has published a comment from Magnus Ranstorp, an expert in terrorism – “Finland is what Sweden used to be: a peaceful inlet in a stormy word”. So basically Finland is a pre-Muslim Sweden, do you really want this to change? Think about it…
–So thrust the left is like having a snake as a pet, you may think you’re safe but when you less expect you’re doomed.
This is ridiculous. Then we shouldn’t have trusted LABOR PM Tony Blaire, right? What about Stalin’s state terrorism apparatus? It was pretty effective in terrorizing and maintaining security. You should stop looking at simple labels and stereotypes when seeking to understand complex issues.
lol@Tony the Toby
… thrust the left with vitals things …
… työntää vasemmistöä sukupuolielimillä … 🙂
I wonder if the Toby realises that the Coalition Party in Finland is quite some distance to the left of the UK Labour Party and that the US teabaggers are rightly perceived as political imbeciles in Finland.
“Then we shouldn’t have trusted LABOR PM Tony Blaire, right?”
Absolutely, look at UK know, European largest exporter of terrorism. The only good think he did was join the war on terror, beside that, rubbish. Appeased Muslims as much as he could and yet, got bombed.
“What about Stalin’s state terrorism apparatus?”
And with side of the aisle was Stalin?
“You should stop looking at simple labels and stereotypes when seeking to understand complex issues.”
You and your “complex issues”.
lol@Tony the Toby
Too thick to realise that he’s lost the argument.
The reason why people want to break the traditional three party hold over Finnish politics is here.
They all have to take the blame and not try to blame it on each other.
http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/htimes/domestic-news/general/13802-major-parties-deny-responsibility-for-rise-of-true-finns.html
KRPOP, it’s funny how some in this country see the True Finns as a savior. If you look at their track record and the political mass of their candidates, it’s easy to conclude that it is all a show with cheap thrills. Can you enlighten me and tell me what value the True Finns will give? The polls have inflated them pretty much. But we all know what can happen to a bubble.
Maybe… or maybe people are just sick and tired of all of this crazy appeasement.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/8207411/European-Commission-criticised-for-omitting-Christmas-on-EU-school-diary.html
“Appeasement?” That was Tiwaz’ favorite argument. I am really surprised by the stuff that the ultra-conservative Daily Telegraph publishes. I have worked for conservative papers like the Buenos Aires Herald and they at least had the guts to speak out on human rights violations. Are the UN Declaration of Human Rights toilet paper to the Daily Telegraph?
lol@Tony the Toby
The Toby is evidently unaware that you won’t find Christmas in a Finnish or Swedish calendar, either, though there is a regular yuletide festival on the same day.
I’m not sure that we need a calendar to remind us that there will be no public transport on 25 December, but it’s handy to have a reminder of Ramadan, Yom Kippur and the Chinese New Year. At least, this is handy for those of us who have friends and acquaintances from beyond the confines of our own straight intestine.
“Can you enlighten me and tell me what value the True Finns will give?”
It’ll turn on the heating on the main parties.
“ultra-conservative Daily Telegraph publishes. “
Enrique, once again you go totally against the messenger strategically escaping from the message. Well done mate…
lol@Tony the Toby
There was no message. A message requires substance, meaning and content. Chanting the buzzwords of prejudice at a readership that exemplifies irreversible brain stem dysfunction is not communication. It’s more like using electrodes to stimulate the heartbeat of a dead frog on a dissecting dish.
And we all know why you can’t tell the difference!