Are you sick and tired of jargon and empty gibberish? You just came to the right place!
Vaalistaja (the Electoral Enlightener) is a voter activation campaign of the SAK trade union movement. It aims to inform readers who are deciding which way to vote. The parliamentary elections will be held on 2 April 2023. You may also cast your vote in advance.
Vaalistaja content is for readers who prefer to cut through the political jargon and find more straightforward facts to help them vote. We shall cover the topics of the election debate and show you how realising the aims of political parties would affect your life as an ordinary working person. We shall call particular attention to important topics that tend to be forgotten in election debates.
We shall insist on clear answers from election candidates on issues that affect the lives of ordinary workers. Why not visit our parliamentary election gallery of candidates who are personally committed to pro-employee policies?
We also show that elections are not rocket science. You can easily join in the discussion and sometimes even see the funny side.
You can follow us here and on the @vaalistaja social media channels. Subscribe to the English language e-mail newsletter for a regular digest of the main talking points in the parliamentary elections. The newsletter will appear three times before the elections and once immediately after the election results are released.
A weekly Finnish-language newsletter will also appear. You may subscribe to it via this link.
Things to discuss in the parliamentary elections
How can you make ends meet, even when prices are rising?
- How important are Sunday work bonuses and other wage supplements for individual earnings?
- Anyone can become unemployed. How do you ensure that people are entitled to support when that happens?
- How can employees earn enough to cover the rising cost of living?
- We must curb the rise in electricity prices by taxing excessive energy company profits and returning the funds to families.
Who are welfare services for?
- How do we make sure that the early childhood education and schooling of our children is effective?
- Old people deserve humane and professional care and treatment that meets their needs. How can we ensure this?
What is the best way to arrange effective cooperation at workplaces?
- Collective agreements and labour laws must be respected. How can we stamp out labour market crime?
- Collective agreements determine minimum pay and working conditions. How can we make sure that everyone has the same rights as workers protected by a collective agreement?
- How can we make sure that everyone gets a say in setting their working conditions?
Aren’t we all equal in dignity and in our shared responsibility for the planet?
- How can we guarantee freedom from discrimination at work or elsewhere in society due to skin colour, religion, origin, gender or other personal characteristics?
- Climate change and loss of biodiversity threaten all life on Earth. Everyone must play a part in tackling these dangers. How do we make sure that the means of doing so are fair, and do not unreasonably penalise the already disadvantaged?