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The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report as well as the comments from the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK), the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals (AKAVA), the State Employer’s Office (VTML) and the Commission for Local Authority Employers (KT).

1.  The Committee notes from the report that the employment situation in Finland has been improving for several years and that employment has increased for both men and women. The Government states that there is no significant difference between the unemployment rate for women and that for men; in 1999, the unemployment rate for women was 10.7 per cent as compared to 9.8 per cent for men. SAK states that the recession of the 1990s caused persistent long-term unemployment which has affected women, particularly older women, more than men.

2.  The Government indicates that the pay differentials between men and women have reduced slightly in the 1990s, due largely to the economic recession of the early 1990s which reduced "wage drift" in the private sector, as well as to the equality allowances contained in the comprehensive incomes policy agreements of the 1990s. The data supplied by the Government indicates that pay differentials between men and women have decreased in the municipal sector, where women predominate (78 per cent of municipal employees are women). In 1999, women in the municipal sector earned approximately 77 per cent of men’s average overall monthly earnings (compared to 75 per cent in 1996). The data provided indicates that, in terms of regular working hour earnings, women’s pay in 1999 was 80 per cent of men’s. The Government points out, however, that a detailed analysis of the municipal sector by job group shows that the pay differentials are in fact slight and that there are occupations where men earn less than women on average. The Committee notes from the report that, in state employment, women’s average earnings in 1998 were 79.3 per cent of men’s (compared to 79 per cent in 1993). In the metallurgical industry, women’s average hourly wage for regular working time in the second quarter of 1999 was approximately 86 per cent of the comparable figure for men, while women’s pay was about 95 per cent of men’s when compared by pay group. AKAVA states that the pay differentials between men and women have remained largely unchanged in the late 1990s, with AKAVA women earning 73 per cent of men’s average pay, in 1999.

3.  The Government attributes the pay differentials noted to a range of factors, depending upon the sector involved. It indicates that differentials in the municipal sector are due to a specialized labour market, education, age structure, amount of overtime worked and other factors. It attributes the differentials in the state sector to divisions in the wage market and to the placement of men and women in different jobs. The Government indicates that differentials in the metallurgical industry are due largely to job specialization. The VTML states that, in analysing the pay differentials between men and women, pay levels should be compared with job difficulty. According to the VTML, if job difficulty and other factors are taken into account, then the actual imbalance caused by gender would be 2 per cent. AKAVA attributes women’s lower earnings to the prevalence of women in atypical employment relationships (part-time and fixed-term relationships), where pay is substantially lower than average for permanent employees. It points out that half of all women under 30 have a fixed-term employment relationship and that 85 per cent of young women members of AKAVA employed by the State have a fixed-term relationship. The KT emphasizes that municipal employees have excellent agreement-based opportunities for family leave, sick leave and other leave of absence, which considerably increases the demand for fixed-term employees, particularly in the largest fields of the municipal sector, which include health care, social welfare and education. The Government indicates in the report that the development of equal opportunities in the labour market is complicated by the fact that atypical employment is far more common among women than men. In this context, the Government points to the amendments to Chapter 2a of the Employment Contracts Act on family leave, which were designed to clarify the family leave provisions and facilitate the taking of such leave. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to promote wage parity for workers in atypical employment relationships, as well as the impact of the amendments on the wage gap and on women’s ability to compete effectively with men on the labour market.

4.  The Committee notes that in 2000 the Equality Ombudsman launched a study project to create a framework for regularly outlining the pay differentials between men and women and to generate data on developments in regard to the differentials and the factors that cause them. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on the results of the study once it is completed.

5.  The Committee notes that the incomes policy agreement in force in Finland until the end of 1999 contained an equality allowance targeted at lower-paid sectors where women predominate. It notes from the report that branch-specific collective agreements concluded in late 1999 and early 2000 do not contain such allowances. The SAK states that the pay differentials between men and women have remained unchanged due to the equality allowances mentioned. The STTK indicates that women’s low-pay allowances in incomes policy agreements play a significant role in reducing the pay differentials in situations where overall pay raises are small, where pay developments observe agreement guidelines and wage drift is relatively minimal. However, the STTK points out that equal pay should be promoted through other measures such as pay system reform through job demands evaluation (evaluation of the demands inherent in the job) and equality plans formulated pursuant to the Equality Act. The STTK states, however, that the implementation of equality in the workplace has been hindered by a lack of systematic planning. An STTK survey among industrial employees indicated that only 6 per cent of all workplaces had an equality plan in place. The KT feels that achieving equal pay may have a negative impact because removal of pay differentials would prevent employers from implementing incentive pay policies.

6.  With regard to job evaluation methods, the SAK and AKAVA state that new pay systems based on job demands evaluation have been agreed upon in numerous sectors. The Government indicates that 17 state agencies and institutions now have agreements on the new pay systems. However, AKAVA points out that the impact of the new pay systems on promoting equality in the workplace should be studied, particularly in the central administration, where the pay system reform is most advanced. The Committee notes from the report that the Ministry of Finance and the main social partners signed an agreement on 10 March 1999 to promote the new pay systems, which provides for the establishment of a working group to draft a proposal for the codification of pay system reform in central government collective agreements for employees and officials. The Committee also notes the report supplied by the Government on job demands evaluation in the state sector, and that the State Employer’s Office is continuing the development of research and statistical methods relevant to this issue as part of its work on developing pay systems. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep it informed of the proposals made by the working group, as well as the results of the work of the State Employer’s Office in this area, including the impact of the new systems on existing pay differentials.

7.  The right to obtain pay data.  The STTK states that monitoring the application of the principle of equal remuneration is hindered at the workplace level by the fact that the availability of pay data to shop stewards is limited in that data on pay to employees covered by a different collective agreement from that of the shop steward is unavailable. The STTK notes, however, that progress was made during the 2000 negotiations when a shop steward under the Finance and Special Fields Union of the STTK obtained the right to access data on average pay and similar statistics separately for men and women by job demands level. The Government indicates that the right of shop stewards to obtain pay data differs in the public and private sectors, but that the amendments to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999) improved the right of shop stewards to obtain information in the state and municipal sectors. The shop steward agreement relating to the collective agreement for municipal employees and officials also included a clause providing that shop stewards shall have the right to obtain data on the pay levels of employees and officials.

8.  The Committee notes the information provided by the Government with regard to the equal pay complaints received by the Equality Ombudsman. It also notes the comments of the Chemical Workers’ Union with regard to the application of Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) that it is difficult for employees to initiate complaints under the Act on Equality between Women and Men due to fears of retaliation. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to provide information on the Ombudsman’s activities relevant to the investigation and resolution of equal pay complaints, including a summary of the complaint, the action taken and the outcome.