The Päijät-Häme welfare municipality association, which ceased operations at the turn of the year, did not fully implement wage harmonization. Now the municipalities do not agree to be the payers.
The former Päijät-Häme welfare municipality association has salary arrears of up to several tens of millions of euros. Salary arrears have arisen when the municipal corporation did not complete salary harmonization during its operation. The employee and employer organizations are currently negotiating over how long the salary arrears must be paid.
The last financial statements of the deceased municipal association will be approved by the welfare area. A payroll deficit of EUR 20 million has been recorded in the 2022 financial statements.
According to Virolainen, it is important for the welfare area that the deficit is recorded in the municipalities’ financial statements, as the permanent funding of the welfare area is calculated according to it.
– If 20 million salary costs are missing, it means that we have an additional adaptation need of 20 million euros. In other words, in addition to the fact that we have paid the employees too little salary, we may have to offer 20 million fewer services to the people of Päijäthämä, says Virolainen.
The amount does not even come to 20 million euros, but includes one year’s shortfall in salary costs. If the labor market partners come to a negotiation result, according to which the salary must be fixed for three years, the amount will be 60 million euros.
Petri Virolainen considers it unlikely that salaries would have to be paid retroactively since the establishment of the municipal corporation. The Päijät-Häme municipal association was established in 2017. The salaries of nurses who transferred from the municipalities to the municipal association were harmonized to the average salary.
Welfare regional director Petri Virolainen explains how salaries are corrected:
According to the municipalities, the wage gap is to be paid by the welfare region
– There is a clear section in the law that the municipal corporation’s assets, liabilities and commitments are linked to the welfare area to which the municipal corporation’s member municipalities belong, says Rahkonen.
As a municipal manager, Rahkonen has been involved since the establishment of the welfare municipality association. He also served as the chairman of the working committee consisting of municipal managers. When the municipal corporation was founded, there was no known labor law solution according to which salaries would be harmonized to the highest salary category.
– This has come as a surprise to municipalities along the way. Since the negotiations are still ongoing, we don’t know how big the gap is here.
If the Päijät-Häme welfare area’s calculations of 20 million are correct, the city of Lahti’s share of the wage gap for one year is 10–12 million euros, and Hollola’s share is two million. The three-year retroactive salary amount would be 60 million euros, of which Lahti’s share would be a little over half and Hollola’s two percent.
If the municipalities become the payers, it means cuts to municipal services.
– Then children and young people are cut off, because the municipalities are responsible for those services, says Rahkonen.
Regardless of the payer, the welfare region or the municipalities, the end result can be seen in the services of the people of Päijäthämälä.
– This is the biggest drawback. It is quite an unreasonable situation that these areas, where priority has been given to developing social security services, are getting unreasonable cuts to bear, says Rahkonen.
– This was not thought clearly before the social security reform. From the point of view of social morality, it is highly suspicious that a pioneer pays for something that others do not have to pay for.
*The subject can be discussed until 23.00 on 3 August 2023.*