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prison for an employer or the representative of an employer who, in
advertising a vacancy, choosing a new employee or in the course of employment,
places an applicant for a job or an employee in an unfavourable position
without a substantive or acceptable reason.
32.
Non-nationals are subject to the Finnish labour legislation. The labour
protection authorities also supervise the implementation of the terms of the
employment contract for non-nationals. According to the legislation,
employers must provide assurance to the labour authorities dealing with work
permit applications that the wages of a non-national and his other employment
terms are in keeping with the collective agreement currently in force or, if
there is no collective agreement in the field in question, that they
correspond to the practices applicable to Finnish workers.
33.
In a situation where the employer is insolvent, employees have the
option of receiving their wages and other employment benefits in the form of
pay security. This also applies to non-nationals. Employees can also apply
for their benefits from the employer through court proceedings.
3.
Measures taken by the Ministry of Labour
34.
The Ministry of Labour, together with the Ministry of Education, is
responsible for preventing racism. Issues concerning promotion and
coordination of tolerance and good ethnic relations in society and in
administration, as well as contacts with civic organizations working in the
field, are the province of the Ministry's Migration Division. This Division
was established on 1 March 1997 with the purpose of unifying the
administrative departments responsible for issues related to migration and to
promote the integration of immigrants into Finnish society.
35.
In the Council of State decision-in-principle against racism, various
ministries were given tasks. On this basis, the working group set up by the
Ministry of Labour, consisting of representatives of the relevant ministries
and the Finnish League for Human Rights, has made a proposal to establish a
mechanism to monitor racism. This will be set up in 1998-99 and consist of
various entities reporting to different administrative branches.
36.
It has been suggested on various occasions that a position of
discrimination attorney should be established in Finland. The Ombudsman for
Aliens has a central role in securing the status of aliens. When he discovers
discrimination against an alien, he issues advice and instructions designed to
stop it or prevent it from recurring. The Ministry of Labour has set up a
working group whose task is to make proposals for expanding the scope of the
Ombudsman's activities to cover supervision and promotion of the
implementation of the principle of non-discrimination towards all ethnic
minorities.
37.
The authorities support integration of immigrants intending to reside
permanently in the country. A proposal for a law on the reception of
asylum-seekers and integration of immigrants was placed before Parliament in
spring 1998. It includes proposals for integration plans, integration support
and the duties of public authorities concerning reception and integration.