In English: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop

IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL’S WORKSHOP

COLUMN | Our columnist Linda Omodora discusses employment of immigrant people in Finland.

Employment plays a key role in the economic growth, well-being of the population, and the overall sustainability of any country. The provision of gainful employment to the population is important on many levels. Economically, employment provides income to people, generates revenue for the government in the form of tax, and boosts domestic demand for goods and services. Politically, employment keeps the population busy in such a way that people are occupied and consequently live in peace with decreased crime and violence rates. Research published by Professor Sonia Bhalotora of Warwick Economics and CAGE established a strong link between unemployment and domestic violence. In the report, it was stated that men who lose their jobs are more likely to inflict domestic violence while women who lose their jobs are more likely to become victims of domestic violence. The situation of the “working poor” and “under-employed” groups must be given serious attention in Finland. The under-employed groups can be further divided into skilled workers in low-paid jobs, skilled workers in jobs that do not fully utilize their skills, or part-time workers who would rather work full-time. Unfortunately, in Finland many immigrants, particularly immigrant women, fall under this group. A publication by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in 2020 reported that it is harder for immigrant women to find jobs in Finland than in any other Nordic country. The few who can find jobs are mostly under-employed or find low-paid jobs. The working poor and under-employed groups of people find themselves working very hard around the clock but are still unable to make ends meet to lift themselves and members of their families out of poverty. This is a direct consequence of them being able to find jobs only in the low-paid service sector, or low-paid jobs. Inequality is a major concern Inequality in working life, to a large extent, exists in the EU in general and Finland in particular. According to recent statistics published by Eurostat In 2020, the EU unemployment rate for people aged 20-64 years old was approximately 13.9 % for those born outside the EU, and in contrast, 8.1 % for those born in another EU Member State and 6.1 % for the native-born population. In Finland, the unemployment rate in Helsinki was 17 % for the

Economically, immigrant popunemployed and ulation. In contrast, the unemunderemployed ployment rate for native-born people spend Finns was 7.5 % less, accrue in 2019 which is less than half of more debts, rely the immigrants’ unemployment heavily on social rate. This is assistance from the clearly a worrying situation. government, and I believe that in the worst case the under-employment rates scenario become amongst the immigrant popuhomeless. lation would be far higher than this, but sadly there is no reliable statistics to back this claim, only personal experiences from happenings around me. Inequality in working life includes unequal pay based on gender as well as the fact that the immigrant population earns less than their native-born counterparts. There have been many cases reported about the fact that there is a serious brain drain present in Finland. Amongst the immigrant population, the non-western immigrants, in particular, are unable to find gainful employment in their respective fields of study upon completion of their degree (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Ph.D.) when in comparison to their Finnish counterparts. This usually leads to them migrating to other countries that would recognize and utilize their talents, getting a menial job or a job they are overqualified for, or simply relying on social benefits.

For the immigrant women population, country of origin makes a difference in how successful they can find gainful employment. For example, YLE reported that women coming from Estonia, North America, Asia or other European countries were more successful in securing jobs than women from North Africa and the Middle East, particularly those that came to Finland as refugees or asylum seekers. About 43 % of immigrant background women between the ages of 2554 years have advanced degrees, so their educational level is not the major problem here.

In 2000, the European Union adopted the “Racial Equality Directive” which prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, or ethnic origin, not only in the field of employment but also with regard to social protection and advantages, as well as access to public goods and services, including housing. Thus, providing strong legal protection in the fields of employment amongst its member states.

Unemployment and underemployment have both economic and social consequences, particularly among the immigrant youth population. Because of the recent migration history to Finland, the native-born children of immigrants belonging to the second generation are only now gradually entering the labour markets. Economically, unemployed and underemployed people spend less, accrue more debts, rely heavily on social assistance from the government, and in the worst case scenario become homeless.

Socially, people will have a low quality of life, health problems, mental health challenges, substance abuse, domestic violence, and poor academic performance of children whose parents belong to this group.

Discrimination leads to marginalization There have been many cases of discrimination based on race, religion, or ethnicity in Finland. For instance, if an individual possesses a “foreign” last name, their possibility of being gainfully employed plummets, even if they are qualified for the job.

One could speculate that this can be likened to the “caste system” practiced in some countries in the 19th century, whereby one’s access to opportunities depends on the family they were born into.

For the immigrant population, this feels like being put in a cage whereby one has to be grateful for being hosted by your present country of residence and as such should be grateful for whatever is thrown at you without complaining. Discrimination subsequently leads to marginalization, and consequently, the crime rates amongst this group will increase.

According to the research of Shannon Hughes Spence, who published an article titled “Crime, marginalized young people and neoliberalism”, marginalized young people in particular are more likely to come into conflict with the criminal justice system of a country.

In a recent report published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), discrimination can perpetuate poverty, stifle development, productivity and competitiveness and also ignite political instability.

There are some ways in which the government can curb immigrants’ unemployment and under-employment. One way of doing this is to mandate all companies to provide equal opportunities to all job seekers; for example, by placing quotas to employ immigrants. Another way is to eliminate barriers to employment by constantly analysing, monitoring, reporting, and taking action on matters related to unemployment and under-employment of immigrants. A third way is for the government to assist companies by providing funds to help companies provide Finnish language training to their immigrant employees that lack adequate Finnish language skills.

Follow the lead of universities and IT sector In my opinion, the current hindrances preventing this solution from being implemented could perhaps be the lack of inadequate funds allocated for the integration of educated immigrants into the job market. It could also be a result of a disconnect between the government and the administrative bodies needed to channel the funds to the right places. One way to remove this disconnect is to employ more immigrants in administrative positions in all municipalities in Finland. These immigrants are in the best position to state what needs to be done to improve their unemployment and underemployment conditions. To be fair, there are some sectors in the Finnish economy that do not practice labour discrimination, one such institution is universities across Finland. Another such institution is the IT sector. Nokia for example has been an employer of a diverse labour force for many years. Qt, a software company based in Espoo, recently took a bold step of employing immigrants to their Oulu office. This is commendable and it is desired that more companies in Finland should follow suit.

There is a great saying that states that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop”. Consequently, long-term unemployment and underemployment can create a serious negative impact on individuals, society, and the overall economic system. It is important that immigrants living in Finland be given a chance to utilize their full potential into contributing to the Finnish society. If women and immigrants are provided with equal opportunities, they can boost the overall sustainable growth and development in Finland. •

Linda Omodara is currently a doctoral researcher at the Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu. Her research field is on sustainability and environmental engineering. She is also a deputy Vice-Councillor at the City of Oulu and the Education and Training coordinator at UN Youth of Finland.