PAM's Selin: Service sector must see an annual
increase in pay and priority over the industrial sectors

Helsinki (01.12.2006 - Juhani Artto) Ann Selin, president of the Service Union United, is not satisfied with the government's goal in narrowing the pay gap between women and men. In 2004, the average pay for women was 80 per cent of the average pay for men making the gap even wider than it was in 1999.

The Finnish government plans to raise women's average pay, by 2015, to 85 per cent of men's pay. According to the government's official plan, it would take 40 years to finally eliminate the gender-based pay gap, Selin protests. "Full equality must be reached in a shorter period of time", she insists.

"Already in the next bargaining round, we have to make agreements that bring women's pay and pay in the female-dominated sectors closer to men's pay and pay in the male-dominated sectors."

"Wages and salaries in the female-dominated service sectors have annually to be raised 0.7 to 0.8 percentage points more than the wages and salaries in the industrial sector."

It is time we all came to appreciate the qualities employees have to have when it comes to service sector jobs, Selin says. "Customers have become more demanding, and the goals for economic results have been raised. Nowadays, one also expects developed social skills from employees in the service sector jobs, Selin argues.

On Wednesday, she was re-elected as PAM's president.