The capital's healthcare woes made headlines on Thursday when the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (HUS) announced layoff talks aiming to cut nearly one thousand jobs.
Helsingin Sanomat's most-read story on Friday reports on another major issue in Finnish public healthcare — the exodus of doctors to the private sector, which means vacancies on the public side often aren't filled.
Two public health clinics in Helsinki were recently unable to recruit doctors for open positions. One of the jobs did not receive a single application, while the other drew just a single applicant who did not meet the eligibility criteria.
These jobs have base salaries of around 4,000 euros, with various allowances that can significantly increase the total pay, likely to some 6,000 euros, according to HS. That is, however, significantly less than the 10,000-euro monthly salary doctors can pull down when signing up with staffing agencies to do the exact same job.
In 2022, a third of the city's open doctor positions received no applicants.
"I should have moved to the US"
Hufvudstadsbladet follows up on the government's three-month rule for foreign workers, which stipulates that if a worker on a worker residence visa loses their position, they must find a job within three to six months or risk deportation.
Entrepreneurs at the Maria Startup Campus in Helsinki, where nearly 40 percent of company founders are foreign, told HBL that companies like Nokia helped create an image of Finland as a tech-friendly and innovative country. Now, the business community is concerned that the country's reputation is deteriorating in the eyes of potential newcomers.
"I should have moved to the US instead. That's what I've been thinking about lately. It's hard to see a future here," Jerry Udensi told the paper.
Jayesh Vasudeva meanwhile said Finnish immigration policy could become a major stumbling block for high-tech companies.
"I'm definitely worried. Many people who come here to study are specialists, and it can take a very long time to find a job. Six months is not enough," Vasudeva explained.
Parents push back against phones
With the new school term underway, some parents have taken the "radical" approach of choosing to not give their children smartphones, reports Iltalehti.
In Kokkola, IL talked to one new first grader's father who has a clear stance on screens. "We’re not planning to get him a phone or even a watch phone at this time."
Another parent with kids in grades 3, 5 and 7 in Satakunta was along the same lines. "I feel that my children are incredibly free. They’re not prisoners of screens," said the mother whose kids don't have personal devices.
"You see a lot of kids already stop playing when they're four years old," the mother who works in early childhood education, told IL, adding that her seventh grader still engages in play.
IL also brings up its previous reporting on a troubling phenomenon in Finnish schools where pupils secretly record each other and teachers. The videos are sometimes then used to bully and humiliate the victims, with videos posted on platforms like TikTok.
Yle News' All Points North podcast asked why Finnish parents are so relaxed about skids using smartphones.
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