Preparation of equal pay program interrupted due to lack of consensus
The Government and social agents were unable to agree on how to narrow the gender pay gap.
Negotiations on the tripartite equal pay program were interrupted on Thursday 12 February.
In a brief press release published only in Finnish, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health admitted that the negotiators from the Government and the social agents could not reach consensus on what measures should be "taken to narrow the gender pay gap."
The parties have been negotiating the content of the equal pay program included in the government program for a long time, the Government said.
However, Thomas Blomqvist, the Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Gender Equality, promised that work on wage equality will continue:
“During the negotiations, no agreement was reached on the content and measures. In any case, work to reduce the pay gap between women and men and implement the principle of equal pay in the Equality Act will continue in line with the Government's objectives, " Blomquist said.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health emphasized that the key priorities for equal pay include "assessing the demand for work, increasing wage transparency and breaking down labor segregation, and assessing the gender impact of collective agreements."