Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Finland (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

1. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee had drawn the Government’s attention to the fact that section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (299/1958) excludes from the scope of application certain categories of work like household duties carried out in the home of the employer or work carried out in connection with ships. The Committee had also requested the Government to indicate the measures envisaged or taken to regulate the minimum age for such categories of work and for any other work outside an employment relationship, such as self-employment. The Committee notes with interest that section 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (299/1958) was repealed and that the Young Workers Act (998/1993) presently applies to all work done by persons under 18 years (young workers) in a public or private sector employment relationship. The Committee also notes that under section 23 of the Guardianship Services Act (442/1999), legally incompetent persons (in this case persons under the age of 18) cannot, as a rule, self-administer their property or enter into contracts or other legal transactions. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s statement that these provisions impose considerable limitations on the opportunities for young workers to work outside public or private sector employment relationships, for example as private entrepreneurs, and that in practice, these provisions, together with compulsory education also prevent young people from working as independent entrepreneurs in Finland.

2. Article 3. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to indicate whether it avails itself of the provision of Article 3(3) of the Convention and to supply further details on the factors for which the Government declares a minimum age for hazardous occupations less than 18 years, or otherwise, to indicate the measures envisaged or taken to raise the minimum age for performing such occupations to 18 years old, according to Article 3(1) of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it has put into effect the stipulations contained in Article 3(1) and (3) of the Convention. Under section 3 of the Ordinance (No. 508 of 1986) respecting the protection of young workers, youngsters under 16 years may not be employed in dangerous jobs. A young person aged 16 years or over can, however, do work referred to in section 3 in a number of specific cases. Under section 4 of the Ordinance (No. 508 of 1986), an employer assigning young persons to such tasks must take protective or other measures to ensure that the young workers concerned are not exposed to any health hazards. The Committee notes with interest that the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health issued the Decree No. (128/2002) containing an extensive list of examples of work to be classified as dangerous for young employees after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

3. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s information regarding statistics on the employment of children and young persons. It asks the Government to continue to supply information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, including, for example, extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.

4. The Committee notes the Government’s information that a bill has been represented to the Parliament on a new occupational safety and health act and that this act would cover all work done by private and public sector employees, except for ordinary non-vocational activities. It further notes that the scope of the application of the Young Workers Act will be extended and that the Decree on the protection of young workers will be revised. The Committee requests the Government to supply copies of the new legislation once it has been adopted.

5. The Committee notes the comments of the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) that occupational safety and health provisions covering young persons are still not enforced with sufficient vigour and are not sufficiently comprehensive. The SAK considers that enforcement should be given higher priority because the number of young people working during their studies is increasing. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on SAK’s comments.