In the debate on health care financing, we have regrettably not talked much about the fact that health care, or healthy people, is an integral part of Estonia's competitiveness.
Sirli Männiksaar, who has grown through the organisation to become the CEO of Ericsson Estonia, one of Estonia's leading exporters, says that to do great things, a leader must be ignorant in a good way and not get stuck in what has been done or the limits of what is available.
Empowering people in industrial relations is not about scaring and misleading them about change, but about informing them about their rights and opportunities and raising awareness.
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.
As previous promises to cut red tape have not been very fruitful and unnecessary bureaucracy has continued to proliferate, it is now possible to make history by controlling it, says Raul Aron, an advisor-analyst at the Confederation of Employers.
Neeme Tammis, the head of the Hansa Group, a decades-long entrepreneur and finalist in the Best CEO competition, has repeatedly burnt himself out in the pursuit of ambition. The last of these made him think more deeply about the life he has left and make a plan.
“Today, we are at a stage where quality immigration would raise the wages of Estonians,” stresses Risto Mäeots, head of Magnetic MRO, an aircraft maintenance company. The company, which provides a high value-added service, would like to grow strongly and employ several dozen people, but there are no employees.
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.
Successful companies are all similar in one way - they make informed choices, invest systematically in developing innovation capacity and constantly create new value, explains Kati Rostfeldt, Innovation Advisor at the Confederation of Finnish Employers.
If foreign workers are necessary for business and society, we need to organise labour migration in such a way that people with the necessary skills and the right cultural background are accepted, explains Ain Käpp, a member of the council of the Estonian Employers' Confederation and head of the labour market working group.
The lingering economic downturn has dulled the pain of the labour shortage crisis, but it has not taken away its cause, explains Ain Käpp, head of the Confederation of Employers' Labour Market Working Group. That's why every step that brings more workers into the labour market is important.
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.