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Nation's 15 Emergency Call Centres to be Cut to 7

09.03.2010 17:22 (updated 10.03.2010 6:22)

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An emergency centre employee at work.

Interior Minister Anne Holmlund has announced the locations of Finland's new emergency call centres, which will serve as hubs in a new, consolidated national emergency network. But some critics say consolidation plans could endanger public safety.

Finland's Council of State made the decision earlier this year that the country's 15 emergency call centres should be reduced to just seven, and left the decision of the locations up to the Interior Ministry.

The hubs will be located in Oulu, Kuopio, Kouvola, Pori, Vaasa, Turku and Kerava.

"Minister Holmlund's decision will create a real emergency for emergency call centre workers," says Yrjö Suhonen, the director of the Finnish Police Federation. He says that employees' comments and opinions were not heeded in the slightest during the decision-making process.

In a blistering press release by the Federation, Suhonen accuses the government of trying to save money and ignoring the importance of both the employees' welfare and real human emergencies.

Union Warns of Employee Flight, Danger to Public

Finland's Union of Emergency Centre Employees (HAL) says the reduction of call centres could endanger public safety, because there will simply be fewer people manning the phones. HAL speculates that some people may not be able to get help quickly enough from police, fire-fighters, or ambulances.

HAL notes that even now, emergency call centre employees are overworked and often at the brink of exhaustion.

One problem HAL envisions is the reluctance of employees to move hundreds of kilometres to their new job location. Many might opt to seek work elsewhere. HAL says this would create a serious worker shortage, since there is no reserve of job applicants with the special qualifications needed for the job.YLE

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