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1. Further to its observation, the Committee notes with interest that section 6(4) of the new Constitution of Finland of 9 June 1999 stipulates that "equality of the sexes is promoted in societal activity and working life, especially in the determination of pay and other terms of employment, as provided in more detail by an Act". It further notes that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health set up a tripartite committee to consider amendments and additions to the Act on Equality Between Men and Women (609/1986) (Equality Act), including items on equal pay and an investigation into the equality impact of the legislation. Noting that the tripartite committee has submitted a report in September 2002, but that no legislative initiatives have been taken to date, the Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

2. With regard to the promotion of pay parity in atypical employment relationships, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that more women (17 per cent) than men (8 per cent) continue to be in part-time work and fixed-term employment contracts continue to be more common among women (20 per cent) than men (13 per cent). According to the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals (AKAVA) this especially adversely affects the pay situation of highly educated women. As much as 76 per cent of the young women of members of AKAVA employed by the State have fixed-term employment contracts and on average the pay of employees in fixed-term employment is lower than those with permanent employment contracts. The Committee notes in this regard that section 2(3) of Chapter 2 of the newly adopted Employment Contracts Act No. 55 of 2001, which explicitly refers to the provisions of the Equality Act, states that "without proper and justified cause less favourable employment terms than those applicable to other employment relationships must not be applied to fixed-term and part-time employment relationships merely because of the duration of the employment contract or working hours". The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application and enforcement of the relevant provisions of the Employment Contracts Act and to indicate how they have impacted on the wage gap between men and women. Please also provide information on the measures taken to increase the ability of more highly educated women to compete on an equal footing with men for permanent contracts.

3. Further to the above, the Committee notes that the experience-based increment scheme applicable in the municipal sector, was modified in 2000 in accordance with the general collective agreement for municipal officials, and is now based on the duration of the employment relationship rather than on accumulating experience at work. This means that maternity and parental leave, care leave, sick leave and all other authorized absences are included in the calculation period for the increment. The Committee notes that since 2000, part-time work has been counted as equivalent to full-time work in the calculation of the experience increment, and that municipal employees on maternity or parental leave between 1996 and 2000 were awarded almost one extra year for the calculation of the increment. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on how it ensures the application of the principle of the Convention to part-time employees and to indicate the impact of these measures on women’s pay in the sectors concerned.

4. Further to its observation, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that changes in occupational and sectoral segregation have been slow and that segregation in educational and training fields leads to occupational segregation in the labour market. The Committee notes the various activities listed in the Government’s report to reduce segregation in the labour market and educational and training fields, including the new initiatives that have been launched in 2002. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to eliminate gender-based occupational segregation, in particular through vocational training and education initiatives, and their specific impact on the pay gap between men and women.

5. With regard to job evaluation, the Commission of Local Authority Employers (KT) states that job demands assessment has progressed in the municipal sector because the criteria used do not discriminate on the basis of gender. Furthermore, the current incomes settlement and the development programme for the municipal sector pay system for 2002-07 will promote improvements in local pay and continued job demands assessment, which will particularly benefit women in the sector. According to the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), job evaluation is conducted in different sectors but no comprehensive study of the present situation is yet available. They suggest that trade unions study how indirect discrimination through collective agreements affect the position of men and women, allowing a comparison to be made between the benefits available to workers with atypical employment contracts and those available to permanent and full-time workers. The Committee notes in this regard that a research project sponsored by the labour market organizations entitled "Equal remuneration with pay system reforms - assessment of job demands and employee competence in Finland" aims to establish which kind of pay systems best support the narrowing of unfounded wage gaps between men and women and how pay systems can be developed to ensure equality. SAK further believes that the same job evaluation carried out in the municipal sector under the terms of a collective agreement should be used to compare the pay of employees working for the same employer under different collective agreements. AKAVA notes that the real impact of pay systems developed on the basis of job evaluation on pay equality has not been sufficiently studied and suggests that the State administration, where pay system reform based on job evaluation has progressed the most, examines the importance of job evaluation in promoting pay parity.

6. Further to the above, the Committee notes that the report of 2000 of the working group of the State Employers’ Office (VTML) investigating the pay system for government employees, indicates that a fair and motivating pay system is needed that gives more emphasis in pay calculations to the work performed, thus allowing change-responsive pay and greater efficiency. It also notes that currently 26 government departments and agencies have reached agreement on a new pay system and the Ministry of Finance provides assistance on the pay system reform to relevant departments and agencies. The Government’s report further indicates that the development of new pay systems for the State sector is scheduled for completion for the end of the current agreement period and that the reform of the Equality Act will promote job demands assessments and equal remuneration across collective agreements by including in equality plans the charting of the demands of men’s and women’s jobs and pay differentials. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the use of job demand assessment and the development of effective pay systems to ensure equality, and on the impact of the new pay systems on existing pay differentials in the government departments and agencies that have reached agreement on such a system.

7. The Committee notes the information received on the opinions issued by the Ombudsman concerning alleged pay discrimination. It notes in particular that in December 2000 a ruling was passed by the Helsinki District Court requiring the Federation of Special Service and Clerical Employees (ERTO) to award compensation to a female employee for wage discrimination. The Committee notes that in determining the amount of reimbursement, the court emphasized that an employees’ organization should be especially aware of the standards set in the employment legislation. Noting that ERTO has not taken steps to correct the wage discrimination since receiving the Ombudsman’s opinion, the Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the progress made in this regard, as well as to continue to provide information handled by the courts or the Ombudsman.

8. The Committee notes that while the collective agreements concluded in many sectors have emphasized the importance of having an equality plan, the introduction of equality plans has not reached adequate levels. It notes in this regard that the remit of the committee reviewing the Equality Act includes considerations how equality plans can be improved, including the question related to the possibility subjecting the employer’s neglect to draft an equality plan to legal sanction. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which it ensures the use of equality plans in the public and private sectors, and on the results achieved.