Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Finland (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report as well as the comments from the Confederation of Finnish Industry (TT) and the Employers' Confederation of Service Industries (LTK) on the methodology of studies into pay differentials, and the comments of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), the Confederation of Technical Employee Organizations in Finland (STTK) and the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals (AKAVA) calling for action to be taken on the great amount of data and studies showing unequal pay between men and women workers.

Article 2 of the Convention

1. The Committee notes from the statistical table in the Governments' report that despite the impact of the equality allowance in slightly reducing sex-based wage differentials, the trend towards narrowing this gap slowed down in the late 1980s. The greatest impact of the equality allowance was in the local government sector, where for full-time personnel in 1992 women's average monthly earnings were 76 per cent of men's. Noting that for civil servants in 1992 women's total average earnings were 79 per cent of men's, the Committee would be grateful to receive more statistical information, if possible, showing progress towards the reduction of sex-based wage gaps by sector with special emphasis on female-dominated occupations and low-paid occupations in relation to male-dominated occupations.

Article 3

2. The Committee notes with interest the information on the outcome of the study of the working group on job evaluation established by the central market organizations in 1990. The working group drew up a series of job requirements corresponding to the 1986 General Survey on Equal Remuneration and proposed measures to introduce job evaluation systems in various spheres of working life, such as sector-specific pay provisions, job evaluation systems for each contract sector, the use of job descriptions as a basis for job evaluation. The Working group stressed cooperation between the labour market parties and research promoting analytical job evaluation.

The working group then commissioned a pilot study aimed at testing its job requirement framework, which completed its work in 1993. The results showed that the chosen job evaluation factors could be applied to different sectors, that the jobs of women and men were equally demanding in both the public and the private sectors, that job descriptions were important and that job evaluation was a suitable tool for promoting equal pay between the sexes. As the Government reports that the pilot study is to continue with cross-sector comparisons, the Committee would like to be kept informed of its further findings and would like to receive a copy of its final report, which was expected to be completed in autumn 1993.

3. The Committee notes the information provided regarding the ongoing re-evaluation of the state pay system, according to which pay discrimination seems to be the lowest in the public sector and pay differentials are larger when statistics use average earnings rather than the various pay components. It also notes the principles on pay formulation contained in the 1992 State Employer's Salary and Wage Policy Programme, appended to the report, which aim at linking factors such as the demand for a job, personal work performance and operative results in setting fair and flexible pay levels.

The Committee would like to receive information on the practical application of this Programme and indications as to when the re-evaluation of the State pay system is completed.

4. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government on certain other points.