Kela’s social assistance for a single person is just under 600 euros a month.
The government’s welfare cuts have hit thousands of unemployed people, reports Helsingin Sanomat.
Benefits agency Kela halved basic social assistance payments in April for roughly 5,500 people who had failed to meet official obligations tied to unemployment support.
The most common reason for the cuts was a failure to register as an unemployed jobseeker.
The basic allowance for a single adult amounts to about 578 euros a month. This sum is intended to cover essentials such as food, everyday household items, clothing, local transport and phone and internet bills.
In addition to the basic payment, recipients may receive housing support. In Helsinki, for example, Kela can reimburse a single person for rent costs of up to 715 euros a month.
Swamped by Wilma
The amount of paperwork teachers face has come as a surprise to new first-year teacher Anni Alanko, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.
Although teacher training programmes prepare aspiring educators for classroom instruction, Alanko found herself ill-equipped for the bureaucracy modern teachers are expected to manage.
Teacher training includes only a single course devoted to administrative duties.
Alanko said she has turned to old-school methods — such as picking up the phone — to minimise the time she spends writing parents messages through the electronic school platform, Wilma.
Berry problems
While Finland’s competition and consumer authority has uncovered a cartel in the berry sector, Taloussanomat suggests that the bigger threat to this summer’s harvest appears to be visa processing delays for Thai pickers.
Arktiset Aromit, an industry body, warns that wild berries risk going unharvested this season.
Only about half of the pickers contracted by food company Pohjola Foods have been able to secure visa appointment slots in Thailand.
Around 3,200 Thai seasonal workers are expected in Finland for the harvest season. If they fail to arrive, berry prices are likely to rise.
