VZCZCXRO0976
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHHE #0149 0930959
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020959Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY HELSINKI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4208
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS HELSINKI 000149 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB SMIG SOCI ECON FI
SUBJECT: Finland: DOL Assistant Secretary for Policy 
Leon R. Sequeira Visits 
 
 
¶1.  Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for Policy 
Leon R. Sequeira participated in a panel at the Nordic- 
American Dialogue at Hanasaari, a trans-Atlantic forum 
organized by the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Center in 
Helsinki Finland on March 3.  On March 4, Sequeira 
discussed aging population issues with Professor Juhani 
Ilmarinen, the Director of Life Course and Work Theme 
at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.  He 
also discussed labor migration issues with Director- 
General Pentti Visanen of the Migration Department at 
the Finnish Ministry of the Interior. 
 
¶2.  Ilimarinen emphasized the need to keep the Finnish 
and European populations at work longer, noting that 
workers, employers, and society as a whole all play a 
role in this effort.  Finnish retirement policy now 
provides a 4.5% per year additional incentive benefit 
to a worker postponing retirement after age 63 up to 
age 65.  The number of older workers who take advantage 
of the incentives and remain in the work force is lower 
that in the US, but rising, Ilmarinen said.  The 
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health has produced a 
survey that measures "Work Ability" and, using 7 
questions, highlights changes necessary to keep any age 
worker productive.  Ilmarinen requested more contact 
with potential survey users in the US in an effort to 
collect US workplace data. 
 
¶3. Visanen discussed his ministry's attempts to attract 
foreign workers in order to fill gaps in key labor 
sectors in Finland.  The GoF is seeking government-to- 
government memoranda of understanding (MOU) with 
countries from which workers have a history of 
emigrating to seek overseas employment.  Finland's goal 
is to directly enlist the help of those governments in 
identifying qualified workers willing to travel to 
Finland and in eliminating any potential abuse on the 
"source country" end. 
 
¶4. Visanen identified Ukraine, China, and Viet Nam as 
countries with which Finland has initiated such 
discussions.  Traditionally Finland has depended on 
migrant workers from neighboring countries such as 
Sweden, Germany, Russia and the Baltic states. 
However, Visanen pointed out, the labor shortages 
associated with an aging population that those 
countries face -- especially Russia -- are more serious 
than Finland's.  Finnish trade unions initially opposed 
programs designed to attract migrants to Finland, he 
added,  but now have become more cooperative and have 
begun working with the GoF, for example to help 
establish policies to prevent erosion of prevailing 
wages for Finnish workers. 
 
¶5. A/S Leon R. Sequeira has cleared this cable. 
 
 
HYATT