By Essi Lehto

HELSINKI (Reuters), – A new Finnish law will allow workers to verify the earnings of their coworkers if they feel they have been discriminated against. It is part in a plan to narrow the gap between male and female wage earners.

Both workers’ unions that want more transparency and employers biggest organisation which claims it will cause more workplace conflicts, have criticised the bill.

The legislation to reduce the wage disparity is being pursued by the five-party centre-left coalition headed by Prime Minister Sanna Marina.

Thomas Blomqvist, Equality Minister of Sweden, stated that the central focus of the government’s program is to eliminate unjustified pay gaps. They will be dealt with more seriously now.”

He stated that he expects the bill to pass in parliament prior to April 2023 elections.

In 2020, Finnish women earned 17.2% more than men according to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development pay equality ranking.

Finland was placed 37th by the poll, just behind Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. This is despite Finland having been a strong political force for gender equality over many decades.

The Finnish Equality Ombudsman’s 2018 report showed that the causes are similar to those found in western European countries. These include segregation on the job market, the use of parental leave by fathers and mothers and the loss of promotion for women.

Merja Mahka is a blogger and investor who has published her earnings on Twitter (NYSE.) since 2019. This allows for transparency and encourages public discussion about pay transparency.

Mahka stated that there have been times when a woman doing the same job as me was being paid more. This she said on Tuesday while Mahka released her taxed income for 2020, which is 48,522 euros (56,111).

TXT DAY

On Wednesday, the Finnish tax authorities released the 2020 income taxable to every Finn. It is a day in Finland that local media love to pore over records about the famous and wealthy.

Although it’s transparent, it doesn’t give all the facts. According to the tax authorities, a person’s income taxed is 75-80% less than what they actually earn due to deductions or tax-free dividends.

Concerning the government proposal that is coming, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, which is the largest employer, walked out of the Parliament Pay Transparency Working Group last November to protest the speed at which changes were proposed to the law.

Katja Leppanen from the Group’s senior legal advisor, stated to Reuters EK she would have loved to see more information on the wage gap. She also said that it was voluntary for employees to disclose their pay details.

She stated that making it mandatory to publish detailed information about individual salaries would only lead to curiosity and worsening of work environment.

Jukka Maarianvaara, equality ombudsman and worker’s union representative, said that they believe enough research was done over the three previous government terms and it is time for them to take action.

“To close the gap, you need to make a difference in your attitudes and that is why it’s necessary to amend the law,” Katarina Morto, Director at Akava (the Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff), stated.

The bill was part of the joint political program of five parties. It attempts to bring together the views from the group. Publication has been delayed and difficult. Blomqvist assured Reuters that it would be published.

“We will follow what we have agreed to in the government programmes,” he stated.

($1 = 0.8648 euros)