Social affairs and health ministry in crisis, insiders tell daily
UUTISET, Finland
A Thursday report in Finland’s leading daily Helsingin Sanomat highlights testimonials from 13 civil servants who are working or have worked for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health who say the workplace has been plagued by layoffs and burn-outs.
“It is our job to safeguard the basic human rights and health of society’s most vulnerable members, and make sure they have enough support to make ends meet,” says one of the informants, “It is a sad thing to witness if we aren’t able to follow this pursuit properly.”
The interviewed ministry employees, most of whom preferred not to be named, said that insufficient and faulty preparation of bills for government consideration are the reason many of the proposals have been dismissed once they have reached the Finnish Parliament.
They told the paper that workers at the ministry – which has been charged with orchestrating major changes to Finland’s system of social and health benefits – have been under intense pressure since the government of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä took office, causing an already heavy workload to reach its zenith over the last year.
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India Inc is not creating inclusive workplace for LGBT employees
By Rashmi Ramesh and Nishtha Sabharwal, The Economic Times
For Shyam Balasubramanian, life is tougher than most of his colleagues at the chip-designing firm in Chennai where he is working. Reason: his sexuality.
Balasubramanian, a transman, says the management is extremely supportive, but that doesn’t stop the teasing and bullying he has to face from elsewhere over his sexual identity.
“I’ve been teased and bullied through school and college, and for the most part of my professional life,” says Balasubramanian, who has been working for nine years. “All this bullying makes connecting with my peers very tough. Something as simple as gaining knowledge becomes hard because people refuse to talk to me and share information.”
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Conflict resolution programme ‘improves wellbeing of pupils’
By Richard Adams Education editor, The Guardian
Schools can significantly reduce the impact of bullying and improve pupils’ wellbeing by using a specialised system of conflict resolution and training, according to a ground-breaking study published in the Lancet.
The research, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London, was conducted over three years in state schools in the south of England, and is the first of its type to study the use of “restorative practice” within schools, bringing together victims and perpetrators of damaging behaviour.
The academics who wrote the Lancet study, including Prof Russell Viner, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, concluded that the £58 cost per pupil to run the programme was likely to achieve “significant impacts” in improving child health and mental wellbeing.