JHL demands City of Helsinki to fix payment of salaries immediately

Lately, there have been disruptions in City of Helsinki’s salary payments. As a result, there have been long delays of up to several weeks in payment transactions. President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Päivi Niemi-Laine, feels that the situation is unreasonable and encourages the city to comply with statutory employer obligations immediately.

Trade Union JHL’s President Päivi Niemi-Laine demands Helsinki to fix its employees’ salary payment without delay. The longest delays have lasted several weeks, which has made a mess of people’s daily lives. In addition to delays, some salaries have been paid without increments and with the wrong tax percentage.

Delays in salary payment may have serious consequences for people receiving, say, housing allowance or other social allowances.

-It is not fun to explain to the authority monitoring the Incomes Register why one’s income varies from one month to another. This can really mess up a person’s finances.

Niemi-Laine does not buy Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen’s explanation. Vartiainen claims that the industrial action measures would have caused the delays.

– This is simply not true.  There have been serious problems long before the events this spring. The city management must now take clear responsibility for the matter and pay the salaries, Niemi-Laine states.

Niemi-Laine refers to the information released by Mayor Juhana Vartiainen. According to Vartiainen, the city is hiring more employees to payroll administration.

– This is a question of under-resourcing payroll administration, meaning that there are too few people working. One simply cannot save on everything. Collective agreements stipulate clearly on salary payments. When system reforms such as this are made, one must be aware of employer obligations and ensure that these obligations will be the guiding light throughout the reform.

– Must a person come to work if their salary is not on their bank account on the agreed day?

More information: President Päivi Niemi-Laine, tel. 040 702 4772