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1.  The Committee notes from the report that, to date, no decisions have been handed down from the higher courts interpreting the new provisions on occupational discrimination added to the Penal Code through Act No. 578 of 1995. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government regarding the decision of the Labour Court of 14 April 1998 holding that the clauses governing pay supplements for experience in the general municipal employment agreement for 1995-96 contravened the pay provisions of the Act on Equality between Women and Men, 1986, because the clauses did not allow maternity or parental leave to be counted as service time entitling employees to an experience supplement. The Government also indicates that the Supreme Court has issued court decisions predicated on sections 7 and 8 of the Equality Act as well as on section 17(3) of the Employment Contracts Act. The Committee would appreciate receiving summaries of the decisions rendered and expresses the hope that the Government will continue to provide information on developments in case law pertaining to equality in future reports.

2.  The Government indicates that gender inequalities persist in Finland, particularly with regard to employment opportunities, the nature of employment relationships and pay. In the area of balancing work and family responsibilities, the Government states that, while more than half of all fathers take paternity leave, it is mostly mothers who take family leave. In this regard, the Committee notes the amendment of the Employment Contracts Act by Act No. 357/1998, which contains flexible provisions on family leave designed to encourage more fathers to take advantage of the leave available and thereby decrease potential indirect discrimination against women with small children.

3.  The Committee notes the follow-up report on the Plan of Action for the Promotion of Gender Equality supplied by the Government. It notes from the follow-up report that a study will be conducted to assess the social impact of the Equality Act, particularly in working life and social decisions. It also notes the proposal in the follow-up report for a programme to reduce gender bias in education and training through the principle of mainstreaming. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of programmes implemented pursuant to the Plan of Action as well as on the results achieved by those programmes. Further to the Committee’s prior comments, it notes the implementation of proposals made by the working group on women’s employment. The Government indicates that the 1997 economic and incomes settlement includes measures to improve gender equality, which are being advanced by the working group. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard.

4.  The Committee notes the statistical data supplied by the Government on the distribution of men and women in atypical and part-time employment. It requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure that women’s concentration in atypical and part-time employment does not result in women being disproportionately under-remunerated in their employment.

5.  The Committee notes from the report that the tripartite committee appointed by the Council of State to examine amendments to the Employment Contracts Act was given an extension of time until 31 October 1999 to finish its work, which included preparing the amendments to the Act concerning family leaves that were adopted by Act No. 357/1998. The Committee further notes that, pursuant to the Act on codetermination in companies, equality is one of the issues to be addressed in personnel and training plans, which results in equality issues being addressed more frequently by enterprises. Noting the Government’s statement that it is too early to evaluate the concrete results of equality planning on workers and enterprises, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to keep it informed of developments in this regard. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Government’s equality programme for 1997-99 has achieved a number of positive results. Ongoing projects in the programme include evaluation of the impact of the Equality Act, mainstreaming of equality in government and improved support for equality objectives in the national employment programme and the EU Structural Fund programmes. The Committee would appreciate continuing to receive information on the projects being implemented under the Government’s equality programme and the concrete results achieved.

6.  Discrimination on the basis of race, colour and national extraction.  The Committee notes from the report that the Romako project aims to create equal opportunities for Roma in working life by, inter alia, conducting individual assessments of participants to determine their needs in respect of training and employment. The Government states that Finnish Roma training levels have risen due to adult labour market training as well as to the Romako project. Please provide information on the number of Finnish Roma participating in vocational training programmes offered by the Government or through the Romako project. The Government indicates that the 1996 project on regional advisory boards has brought positive results, and states that a two-year pilot project was initiated to improve the participation of the Roma in the regional administration, establishing new regional advisory boards on Roma affairs, which launched development projects based on local needs. The Committee notes from the report that these boards have addressed, inter alia, education, housing, employment, day care, health care service and cultural issues relevant to the Roma. It notes that proposals have been made to establish the boards as permanent bodies and to dedicate sufficient economic resources to their work. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of measures taken in this regard and to continue to provide information on the activities of the boards.

7.  The Committee notes that the report contains no reply to the Committee’s previous comments requesting information on the development of the system for collecting data on discrimination and on any measures taken or contemplated with regard to informing the Roma of their rights and the means of redress available to them in cases of discrimination. The Committee therefore repeats its request for information in this regard, as well as its request for a copy of the 1997 report of the working group of the interdepartmental advisory committee on refugee and immigrants’ affairs set up to study immigrants’ rights.

8.  The Committee notes from the report that the average unemployment rate for immigrants to Finland is approximately 40 per cent, with rates considerably higher for those persons entering the country as refugees or on humanitarian grounds. The Government attributes this in part to the immigrants’ insufficient command of the Finnish languages, as well as to prejudice and ethnic discrimination. The Committee notes with interest the measures taken by the Government after 31 May 1997 to prevent ethnic discrimination in employment and to promote employment opportunities for immigrants and ethnic minorities in Finland. In this regard, the Committee notes the adoption of the Act on Basic Education (628/1998), which extends the provisions on compulsory education to foreign citizens and is designed to promote entry of young immigrants into vocational training and prevent their exclusion from the Finnish labour market. The Committee notes that responsibility for refugee and immigrant affairs, as well as the Office of the Ombudsman for Aliens, was moved from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health to the labour administration. In this context, the Committee notes the Ministry of Labour’s proposal that the powers of the Ombudsman for Aliens be increased and that the post be changed to that of a Discrimination Ombudsman. Please indicate the measures taken to implement this proposal, as well as information on the activities of the Ombudsman. The Committee notes the establishment by the Ministry of Labour of a management group composed of representatives of the ministries responsible for the monitoring system for racism and ethnic discrimination as well as the first survey conducted in Finland of ethnic occupational discrimination, with the ultimate goal of putting a full national monitoring system in place during 2000. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of developments in this regard, as well as to supply a copy of the results of the survey, once it is completed.

9.  Article 2 of the Convention.  The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) refers to Article 2 of the Convention in the context of the hotel and catering sector, stating that agencies supplying workers in that sector have refused to apply the generally binding collective agreements applied by the client businesses to their workers, even when the business employee and the worker supplied by the agency have the same job description. The SAK states that it is contrary to the principle of equal opportunity and treatment if different terms and conditions of employment are applied to two employees doing the same work solely because one is employed through an agency and the other by the business using the agency’s services. The Committee understands the concerns of the SAK, but must recall that the scope of the Convention is limited to discrimination based on the grounds set forth in Article 1 of the Convention.