Reform to "punish" inactive job-seekers triggers backlash

Finnish parliament will soon have to decide whether to withdraw a new reform plan to warn those reluctant to work, as a civic initiative to repeal the reform attracted 50,000 signatures on Thursday.

In Finland, civic initiatives need to collect at least 50,000 signatures within half a year in order for the parliament to put it to discussion.

It took only eight days for the initiative against the employment stimulus reform to reach the required number after the bill was passed in parliament by a vote of 103 to 90 last week.

The envisioned legislation requires that an unemployed person must show that he/she has worked 18 hours, earned 240 euros (287 U.S. dollars) as an entrepreneur, or participated in five days of activities arranged by the public employment service offices during a three-month period, otherwise, the person will face an under-five-percent-reduction in the benefits for 65 days.

The legislation is supposed to revise the current system according to which salary-based benefit is paid for 400 days and thereafter all unemployed get the same basic level without time limit.

The move has been described by opposition parties as "cruel punishment". Jarkko Eloranta, chairman of the central labor organization SAK, said the new law should be abolished.

On Thursday, Lauri Ihalainen, former chairman of SAK and current Social Democratic Member of Parliament, said the reaction of the citizens was "good and expected".

The initiative was launched by private citizen Martin-Eric Racine from Helsinki. The co-initiator was citizen Mika Luoma from Pori, western Finland.

The reform takes affect on Jan. 1. The parliament will spend months processing the repeal initiative when it convenes in February 2018, but is free to either accept or dismiss it.

According to national broadcaster Yle,over 27,000 people had signed the initiative on Thursday morning and the number of support continued to grow as the day progressed.The initiative argues that the law punishes people for what they have no influence over.