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1.  The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report and the comments of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals in Finland (AKAVA). Referring to its previous observation, the Committee recalls that, due to difficult economic circumstances, the Government had postponed the enactment of an amendment to the Children’s Daycare Act of 1991 designed to extend the right to municipal day care from children under 3 years to all children under school age (7 years). The Committee notes from the report that, since 1993, the economic situation in Finland has improved and that, accordingly, the amendment in question was enacted and came into force at the beginning of 1996. The Committee also notes from the report that the Children’s Daycare Decree has been amended to shorten the period within which the relevant authorities must arrange for a place in day care, particularly where the need for day care is caused by finding a job, studies or training. Further, according to information supplied by the Government, the home-care allowance scheme was changed on 1 August 1997 by an Act on support for children’s home care and private care which established the right of parents to a home-care allowance if the child is under the age of 3 years or belongs to the same family as another child under 3 years being cared for in the same facility.

2.  The Committee notes SAK and AKAVA’s comments concerning the extension of the right to day care to all children under school age. The SAK and AKAVA consider that the local authorities have generally fulfilled their obligations well in providing childcare, although they point out that centres with rising populations have had some difficulty in meeting the demand for services. The SAK also observes that structural changes in working life are taking place at a faster rate than childcare services can adjust to; therefore, it is sometimes difficult for working parents to find suitable childcare if they work irregular hours. The Committee notes with interest that, according to SAK and AKAVA, over half of all fathers now exercise their right to paternity leave. These organizations point out, however, that the structure of the Finnish parental allowance scheme, which bases payments on a worker’s average wage, has the effect of encouraging the lower paid parent (more often than not the working mother) to stay at home, thereby failing to promote greater gender equality in the workplace. According to the report, the trade union movement has proposed an active campaign to encourage fathers to make greater use of parental leave. The Committee welcomes these positive developments initiated by the Government and the trade unions and hopes that efforts will continue to provide suitable day care services and to meet the needs of working parents. With respect to the parental allowance scheme encouraging mothers over fathers to take leave, the Committee points to the link with the promotion of equal pay remuneration between men and women and refers to its comments under Convention No. 100 on equal remuneration.

The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government on other points.