CMNT_TITLE

1.  With respect to measures taken to reduce gender-based occupational segregation in the Finnish labour market, the Committee notes the work undertaken by the LUMA project to promote equal opportunities by increasing the number of girls and women studying mathematics, physics and chemistry and cultivating their interest in the technical professions. It also notes that a strategic project, "An equal labour market (2000-03)" will be launched within the framework of Finland’s National Action Plan for Employment for 2000, with the aim of influencing career placement mechanisms to achieve a greater balance of men and women in different fields. The Committee notes that the study will use research data and good practice to identify the key factors necessary for eliminating occupational segregation. The Committee also notes that the National Action Plan calls for the social partners to launch a three-year cooperation programme, including an information campaign, involving companies and schools to explore ways in which boys and girls could be influenced to take an interest in selecting non-traditional occupations. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to keep it informed of the measures taken to reduce the wage gap between men and women and to eliminate occupational segregation in the Finnish labour market, and of the progress achieved.

2.  The Committee notes the Government’s explanation regarding the new provisions of the collective agreement for trade, which permit part-time employees to accumulate years of service in the same manner as full-time employees, enabling them to qualify for higher salary grades. The Committee also notes that the general collective agreement for municipal employees and officials, which came into force in 2000, places part-time work and absence from work due to family leave on a par with full-time work, for the purposes of determining pay supplements based on experience. Given the high numbers of women in part-time positions, as well as the fact that, at present, it is mostly women who take family leave, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the impact of these collective agreements on women’s pay in the sectors concerned.

3.  The Government indicates that an equality plan was in place in eight of Finland’s largest cities in 1997, but that there is no complete information on equality plans confirmed by local authorities. Proactive equality measures may be included in the occupational safety plan of action for a workplace pursuant to the Equality Act. The Equality Ombudsman and the occupational safety and health authorities have discussed how to promote equality in the workplace, possibly by having occupational safety and health inspectors raise the issue of equality planning in their annual inspections of occupational safety plans of action and by having the inspectors distribute a brochure on equality planning. The Committee notes that the two-year comprehensive incomes agreement ending in January 2000, contained a working life development programme, involving several working groups aiming to promote the implementation of equality between men and women in different ways. The Committee also notes the plan formulated by the Lappeenranta University of Technology, to increase the number of women students, as well as the plan by Fazer Suklaa Oy, which has, inter alia, increased training and versatility to encourage women to move to better-paid jobs. The Committee notes the copy supplied by the Government of the Equality Ombudsman’s equality planning guide, providing employers with guidelines and instructions on how to comply with their equal pay duties. The Committee would appreciate receiving information from the Government in future reports on developments in equality planning.