In a letter sent to the Legal Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, major Estonian business federations support the planned amendments to the Employment Contracts Act to make working time more flexible. The unions also point out that there are a number of lies and myths circulating about the changes.
Making labour law more flexible is the best news in industrial relations in the last 10 years, explains Ain Käpp, a member of the Employers' Confederation council and head of the labour market working group. It will give part-time workers more security and help attract new people to the labour market.
The Estonian Employers' Confederation's business meeting on 24 April focused on one of the most important issues facing both business and government today: how to increase social confidence in an era where geopolitical tensions, information warfare and international economic instability are affecting people's moods and business decisions.
Although the state is investing heavily in increasing defence capabilities, the confidence of Estonian people and businesses is significantly lower than in the neighbouring region. That is why we are organising a business meeting on 24 April for members of the Confederation of Estonian Employers on the topic “How to increase confidence?” to discuss why this is the case and how to change it.
BusinessEurope, Europe's employers' umbrella organisation, warns that the US decision to impose additional import tariffs on EU products threatens the world's largest economy.
Although the last quarter of the year surprised businesses and analysts with economic growth, businesses are cautious about counting out new growth from it. Before that can happen, confidence needs to be restored among businesses and individuals.
Neither Europe nor Estonia has the money or the capacity to continue with the current social policies, to deal with defence capacity building and to implement a largely politically driven green turnaround. We have to choose one from here, stressed entrepreneurs at the Employers' Economic Conference "Windward Flight 2025". Without a strong economy, there is no defence.
The Confederation of Finnish Employers supports the state's plans to make labour law more flexible, as both employers and employees expect and need this.
A radical reduction of bureaucracy is an untapped opportunity for the Estonian economy, explains Kai Realo, Vice-Chairman of the Employers' Confederation. Otherwise, we will kill all good initiatives, and only those that have managed to break through the bureaucracy and get the attention of politicians or top officials will remain or become viable.
If businesses are responsible for economic growth, the state is responsible for creating a competitive economic area. Estonia's economic policy should aim to place the country among the advanced economies, says Ain Hanschmidt, head of the Employers' Confederation.
The Confederation of Estonian Employers welcomes the new coalition's plan to focus on economic development and security. Cooperation between the state and businesses will turn the economy from recession to growth, which will increase the competitiveness of the economic area.