Finns could receive €800 as basic monthly income

More than 10 per cent of Finland’s workforce is now unemployed, rising to 22.7 per cent among younger workers. About 9.5% of Finns are now out of work – the highest rate in more than a decade – and the government believes some people are deterred from working because they’re better off on unemployment benefit than accepting a minimum wage job.

The proposal is being drafted by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution (Kela), which says the idea has a 69-percent approval rating among the population. The government will also pay the amount regardless of whether or not they receive any other income.

In Finland, taking on low-paid temporary work can leave people worse off due to a decrease in welfare payments, as well as slow reinstatement of benefits once the job is over. Those in favour point to previous experiments where a basic income has been successfully trialed.

KELA plan to precede full implementation of the project with a pilot scheme, during which some benefits would remain and the basic income payment would be €550.

In the 1970s, the Canadian town of Dauphin experimented with the idea and got largely positive results. The prime minister supports the idea as a way to simplify the country’s social security system.

The proposal is being prepared by Kela to be presented in November 2016, and it is still unclear how the government – one of the European Union’s shakier economies – will afford the costs. Current proposals would see Swiss residents receive a much more generous sum than is being considered in Finland - 2,500 Swiss francs per month, or C$3,370. In September the Swiss parliament voted, with a large majority, for a motion calling on the Swiss people to reject the Popular Initiative for Unconditional Basic Income.

Switzerland is also considering introducing a national basic income.