Survey: Estonians expect fair deal on Finnish labour market

Finland said to be most interesting option for Estonians hoping to work abroad

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Estonians interested in the Finnish labour market appear to have higher expectations of fair terms of employment than before.
      A clear majority of Estonians say that they would not agree to work in Finland for wages that are lower than those paid to Finns, and insist that their employers must pay social security contributions.
      Willingness among Estonians to work as undocumented labourers has decreased, and there are more demands for job security.
      The results are from a survey commissioned by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) and conducted by the polling organisation TNS Gallup.
      The poll, taken in February, shows that nearly half of those questioned would be interested in working abroad after Estonia joins the EU.
     
Eight percent of respondents said that they were very willing to work in Finland. The figure has doubled from a similar survey taken two years ago, but at the same time the number of those who completely reject the idea, or who are unsure, has increased slightly.
      The SAK calculates that about 84,000 Estonians are very interested in working in Finland. Juha Pehkonen of TNS Gallup notes that the actual number of people who would come to Finland would be somewhat lower.
     
Slightly more than one in four said that they would be willing to consider undocumented work without taxes. Although the figure has decreased with each consecutive survey, Matti Tukiainen of the SAK’s member service section feels that the proportion is still fairly high.
      The survey also shows that 56% want Estonians working in Finland to be paid the same as Finns, while 26% would accept a lower wage.
     
The most popular countries for Estonians considering working abroad are Germany and Finland. Finland was the first choice for 13%, and Germany for 12% of respondents.
      In the previous survey, Germany came out well ahead of Finland.
      However, Finland is not the primary target country of the most educated Estonians. Finland is the favourite mainly for those working in construction, quarrying, hotels, restaurants, shops, and various caring professions.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Amendments to Aliens' Act to ease work permit procedure (28.4.2004)

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