Tampere disability group faces up to 20 job losses after Stea grant cut

Kehitysvammaisten tukiliitto, founded in Tampere, has opened change negotiations covering its entire staff after learning its Stea general grant will be sharply cut next year, Aamulehti reports. The organisation currently employs 41 people, most based in Tampere. Executive director Tiina Simons says talks could lead to up to 20 dismissals, changes to part-time work, temporary layoffs or contract alterations. Simons warned the group's very existence is at risk because many services require an operating organisation behind them. "We are trying to minimise the consequences, but they are significant," she said. The Tampere office is on Pinninkatu in the Tulppaanitalo building.

Kehitysvammaisten tukiliitto is a national human-rights and civic organisation with offices in Espoo and Kuopio. It advocates for services and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Last year its advisers handled more than 4,000 contacts and the organisation has over 14,000 individual members. The cuts follow new Stea funding criteria announced in June by Welfare and Health Minister Wille Rydman (Finns Party). The criteria say Stea grants will not generally be awarded to central and umbrella organisations.

This comes amid other recent staffing and funding reductions affecting Tampere-area organisations. For example, Fimlab cut about 30 person-years in Tampere earlier this year Fimlab's cuts in May, and the city has proposed ending a small annual grant for volunteer animal rescues as part of next year’s savings the city's recent grant cut.