Finland - Working conditions

For much of the post-war period, Finland had very low unemployment. The emergence of unemployment as a serious problem more or less coincides with the collapse of the USSR and the 1990s recession. Recent growth has not been able to solve the problem, especially as many of the fastest-growing businesses are in the high-technology sector and do not require as many employees as jobs of earlier eras.

The Finnish labor force was 2.53 million people in 1999, over 80 percent of whom were organized. Likewise, 80 percent of employers belong to an employers'

Household Consumption in PPP Terms
Country	All Food	Clothing and footwear	Fuel and power a	Health care b	Education b	Transport & Communications	Other
Finland	17	4	10	4	15	7	43
United States	13	9	9	4	6	8	51
Russia	28	11	16	7	15	8	16
Sweden	17	5	12	4	14	6	41
Data represent percentage of consumption in PPP terms.
a Excludes energy used for transport.
b Includes government and private expenditures.
SOURCE: World Bank. World Development Indicators 2000.

association. The Finnish constitution protects the rights to organization, peaceful assembly, and strike, and these rights are adequately enforced by the state. The government, major employers' associations, and representatives from the Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions (Suomen ammattiliittojen keskusjarjesto or SAK, an umbrella organization consisting of 25 trade unions and totaling 1.1 million members) meet at the national level and communicate to discuss economic and employment policy. However, coordination of this kind has not prevented disagreement, which has often led to strikes. There were 18 strikes in the fourth quarter of 1997 alone, including a firefighters' strike.

There is no specific minimum wage law, but employers are required to bargain with workers' organizations at the industry level (usually with government participation) over contracts that include a minimum wage, which has historically been more than adequate. This wage is extended to non-union workers, and if other wages rise (either due to general rises in the cost of living or due to improvements in the industry), that benefit must be passed on to even the minimum-wage workers, so their situation will keep pace with the higher-paid ones.

There is still wage inequality among the genders in the Finnish labor force, despite the existence of an equal rights act and a law mandating equal pay for equal work. In 1998 women's average earnings were 81 percent of those of men, and women still tend to be segregated in lower paying occupations. While women have individually attained leadership positions in the private and public sectors, there are disproportionately fewer women in top management jobs. Industry and finance, the labor movement, and some government ministries remain male dominated.

Legally, the workweek is set at 5 days with a maximum of 40 hours of work. In practice, this limit is usually understood as a minimum provision, and many workers enjoy even stronger benefits through effectively enforced collective bargaining agreements.