Unemployment Insurance Fund plans to keep branches open in all county centers
The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) is planning to lay off 71 members of staff and close five of its branches. Three of the branches affected are in the southeast of Estonia.
Currently, there are two Unemployment Insurance Fund offices in each of the counties in southeast Estonia. The Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa) plans to close its offices located outside the counties' main centers.
This will mean the offices in Tõrva, Valga County, Antsla, Võru County and Räpina, Põlva County will all close. All those offices are currently only open two days a week.
According to Katri Mandel, head of the Põlva County branch of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the only counties where smaller branches that are due to be shut down remain open are in southeastern Estonia and Ida-Viru County. The planned lay-offs have already been made in Estonia's other counties.
"These smaller offices, five of which are planned to be closed across Estonia are simply the ones that still remain. But in all the county centers the Unemployment Insurance Fund will stay and be open five days a week," Mandel said.
So far this year, 230 unemployed people, employers, or workers have turned to the Antsla branch for assistance, 200 have visited the Räpina branch, and 450 the Tõrva office. Mandel said that not much will change from the clients' point of view either, as much of the consultation work is already done over the phone and online.
"What will change for clients is that maybe if we want to get them to see them from time to time, not just call them or video call them on the computer, then yes, occasionally they might have to come to Põlva instead of Räpina," Mandel said.
Five people will be laid off in each of the three southeast Estonian counties, with no links between that and the closure of smaller branches according to the Unemployment Insurance Fund.
---
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Barbara Oja, Michael Cole