NordenBladet — Provisions have been added to the regulations of the International Labour Organization’s Maritime Labour Convention concerning a situation where a seafarer is detained as a result of piracy or an armed robbery against the ship. The purpose of the provisions is to ensure the continuity of seafarers’ employment contracts and salary payments in such situations.On 3 December 2020, the Government adopted two Decrees concerning the amended regulations, which will enter into force in Finland on the same day as internationally, that is, 26 December 2020. Provisions on the status of an illegally detained employee are laid down in the Seafarers’ Employment Contracts Act.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Petri Peltonen, Licentiate of Science (Technology), will continue as Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment between 1 February 2021 and 31 January 2026. The Government decided on the appointment on 3 December 2020.The Under-Secretary of State assists the Permanent Secretary in managing and coordinating strategically important policies, the steering of activities and operational models in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and its administrative branch.The Under-Secretary of State assists the Permanent Secretary in the preparation and management of large-scale special projects, particularly those related to industrial policy, and assists the Permanent Secretary in creating international cooperation networks and promoting investment projects. The Under-Secretary of State will serve as the first deputy of Permanent Secretary Raimo Luoma.Peltonen has served as Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment since 2016. Prior to that, he worked as Director General at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and its predecessor, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, since 2007. Before his career in the ministry, he held various positions at TEKES for 10 years. He also has experience in product development in the private sector and in international development of space technology in the European Space Agency (ESA).Eleven applications were received for the position.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The coronavirus situation is rapidly worsening in Finland. Over the past two weeks, the number and incidence of cases has risen sharply in almost all regions. This development calls for an immediate and proactive response.Regions must adopt new effective ways to prevent infections and introduce yet more restrictive measures to stop the upward trend. While many regions have already taken action, it will take a few weeks before we can see the effects of the recommendations and restrictions on the development of the epidemic.Throughout the epidemic, the majority of new cases have been reported in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. The incidence remained high in the hospital district during the period of 23–29 November. There are now a lot of new cases in the rest of the country, too.Incidence and proportion of positive samples on the rise across the countryDuring the period of 23–29 November, a total of 3,023 new cases were reported to the communicable diseases register, showing an increase of 444 cases on the previous week. The incidence of new cases was 55 per 100,000 inhabitants. It was 47 per 100,000 inhabitants in the preceding week (16–22 November).The total number of new cases in the last two-week period (16–29 November) was 5,620, which was 2,559 cases more than in the preceding two-week period. The rise in the incidence of new cases is particularly alarming: it was 101 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two-week compared to 55 cases per 100,000 inhabitant in the preceding two-week period.Currently, the estimated basic reproduction number is 1.1–1.35, with a 90 per cent probability.
In the past week, only one in five new cases in Finland were reported among people already in quarantine, compared to one in four the preceding week and one in three the week before that. During the period of 23–29 November, around 13,000–23,000 samples were analysed daily. The proportion of positive samples has continued to rise in recent weeks, reaching around 2.7 per cent in the period of 23–29 November.Every other source of infection known While nationally, the source of new cases of COVID-19 was known in around half of all cases, only one in three sources were known in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. Household transmission accounted for around 50 per cent and occupational transmission for some 25 per cent of all known sources of infection. The number of new cases associated with recreational activities showed a slight decrease at around 4 per cent. Only some two per cent of new cases were associated with businesses serving food or beverages.Some five per cent of new cases were traced back to educational institutions and around two per cent to early childhood education and care. However, mass exposures are still common in educational institutions. More detailed information on further infections is currently being collected in cooperation with municipalities. At the moment this data indicates that the number of further infections in educational institutions is much lower than previously reported. Only one per cent of exposed children and students and less than two per cent of exposed school staff contracted an infection.Most new cases among working-age adults and younger age groupsThe breakdown of positive COVID-19 cases by age group has not changed much in the past three weeks. Younger age groups and working-age adults still account for the majority of new cases. During the period of 23–29 November, people under 50 years of age accounted for around 75 per cent of all cases and people under 30 years of age for nearly 40 per cent of the cases.The risk of contracting COVID-19 will increase among older age groups with the worsening epidemiological situation. Already, their share of new cases showed a slight increase on the situation a month ago. During the period of 23–29 November, people aged over 60 accounted for around 12 per cent of new cases and those over 70 for some five per cent, compared to eight per cent and three per cent, respectively, four weeks earlier.On 2 December 2020, a total of 165 patients were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-10 disease, and 21 of them were in intensive care. The average age of COVID-19 patients in intensive care has been the same, 57 years, throughout the epidemic, and some 55 per cent of the patients have been aged under 60 years.It is estimated that about 18,100 people, which is over 70 per cent of all confirmed cases, have recovered from the disease. The total number of confirmed cases in Finland now stands at 25,882. There have been 408 deaths related to the disease.The monitoring report on the epidemic published today and the previous reports are available on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare:Monitoring coronavirus (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare), in FinnishCOVID-19 epidemic: regional situations, recommendations and restrictions (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare)Situation in intensive care:COVID-19 in intensive care, report dated 2 December 2020, in Finnish, National coordinating office for intensive care, Kuopio University Hospital)Coronavirus in numbers (Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa)Action plan for implementing recommendations and restrictive measures under the hybrid strategy following the first phase of the COVID-19 epidemic (Publications of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 2020:26), description sheet available in English)Previous reports on the situation in intensive care, in Finnish (NB. Scroll down till page end; National coordinating office for intensive care, Kuopio University Hospital)

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — On Friday 4 December, Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will chair the ministerial meeting of the Nordic cooperation group on migration and asylum (NSHF). The meeting will be held via remote connections.At the meeting, the Nordic ministers responsible for migration will discuss the Nordic countries’ views on the reform of the EU’s migration and asylum policy. The aim is to exchange views, in particular, on the solidarity mechanism proposed by the Commission, which would, in situations of migratory pressure and crisis, shift the responsibility for asylum seekers onto other Member States in addition to those located at the external borders.“The Government considers it important to safeguard fundamental and human rights and the legal protection of individuals in all situations. It is essential that solidarity is binding on all Member States, because we all share the responsibility for asylum seekers entering the EU. This also serves Finland’s interests as an EU Member State with an external border. Finland’s positions on the reform are currently being discussed in Parliament,” Minister Ohisalo says.Another topic at the meeting will be the situation of those who remain in the country without a residence permit. Ministers will discuss measures taken by the Nordic countries to prevent the emergence of undocumented migration and a shadow society.The Ministry of the Interior is currently drawing up an action plan for preventing illegal entry and residence for 2021–2024. The action plan will comprehensively seek ways to prevent the emergence of a shadow society. Besides strategic guidelines, the action plan will aim to promote concrete measures to prevent people from staying in the country without a legal right of residence. The work is scheduled to be completed in December.The NSHF (Nordisk samrådsgrupp på hög nivå i flyktingfrågor) was established in 1986 based on a recommendation from the Nordic Council of Ministers. In addition to the annual ministerial meetings, the cooperation group also has a senior officials’ meeting once a year. The purpose of the meetings is to promote the exchange of information and cooperation between countries on migration issues.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The EU employment and social affairs ministers will hold an informal video meeting on 3 December 2020. Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen will participate in the meeting, which will consider measures to improve the position of workers in the platform economy at EU level. Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will represent Finland in the discussion on the implementation of the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy.The European Commission has announced that it will submit a legislative proposal to improve the working conditions in the platform economy at the end of 2021. The Commission intends to consult labour market organisations before submitting its proposal.“Finland welcomes the EU-level discussion, because the same platforms are used in several EU countries. A shared approach to platform work would benefit all: the workers, the Member States and also the platform companies that need to operate within different legislation in different countries,” says Minister of Employment Haatainen.“It is essential to provide workers in the platform economy with proper working conditions, adequate social security and livelihoods,” Haatainen adds.The EU Gender Equality Strategy is an important tool for promoting gender equality in Member StatesThe second main theme of the video meeting will be gender equality and the implementation of the EU’s Gender Equality Strategy. The Commission published the EU Gender Equality Strategy in March 2020, and this is the first time its implementation will be discussed at the political level. During the implementation, particular attention will be paid to equal participation of women and men in the labour market.“The EU Gender Equality Strategy and the Government’s Action Plan for Gender Equality have several points in common, such as promoting equality in working life and balancing work and private life. In addition, they both emphasise a view on gender equality, which is based on the diversity of women and men. Finland is strongly committed to promoting equality both nationally and at EU level,” says Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Gender Equality Blomqvist.The informal video meeting will replace the official meeting of the Council of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs. No decisions will be made at the video meeting.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment have commissioned a study on how a community sponsorship model could complement the authorities’ efforts in the reception of quota refugees. The study will be conducted by the Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius, which operates under the auspices of the University of Jyväskylä. The purpose is to assess the legal and practical feasibility of the model in Finland.In a community sponsorship model, a group of around five sponsors will usually be selected for a quota refugee who will participate in promoting the refugee’s integration for 1 or 2 years. The group can help quota refugees in matters such as dealings with public authorities, familiarisation with the culture, language studies and finding a place of study or job. The aim is to speed up and improve the integration of quota refugees.In recent years, similar integration models have become more common in EU countries and around the world, and there have been encouraging reports on improved integration results for quota refugees. For example, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand are developing the integration of quota refugees in this direction.The study will be completed in February 2021. The results will be used as the basis for future discussions. The study will help the authorities plan the use and testing of existing international models in Finland.The Commission and the UN encourage the use of the new modelOn 23 September, the European Commission issued a broad communication on migration and asylum, in which it emphasises, among other things, the importance of resettlement of refugees. In addition, the Commission encourages Member States to set up community sponsorship programmes to involve civil society. The development of these programmes is also one of the objectives of the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) strategy concerning resettlement for 2019–2021.Next year Finland will receive 1,050 quota refugees. Refugee quotas are a way to accept global responsibility by offering protection in an effective and safe manner to those who need it most, such as women and children.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 3–4 December 2020. The Foreign Ministers of the OSCE participating States will participate in the meeting via video teleconferencing (VTC) under the leadership of Albania, which holds the current OSCE Chairmanship. The meeting aims to decide on appointments of senior OSCE officials and to confirm the Chairmanships for 2023 and 2024.The ongoing conflicts in the OSCE region, especially the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the political and human-rights situation in Belarus, and the Ukraine conflict will be discussed at the meeting. Finland emphasises the implementation of the OSCE commitments and the use of OSCE instruments to help resolve the conflicts in the region. The OSCE is a central forum for European security. The activities of the OSCE are based on the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which was signed 45 years ago, in 1975, in Helsinki.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — In the past few weeks, the COVID-19 epidemic has worsened almost everywhere in Finland. Because the situation varies from region to region, the recommendations and restrictions may also vary. The aim of the recommendations and restrictions is to prevent the spread of COVID-19, safeguard the resource capacity of the healthcare system and shield and protect people, especially those in risk groups.The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has agreed with Finnish mobile network operators and the Emergency Response Centre Agency that the operators will send a COVID-19 alert from the Ministry to their subscribers via text message. The text message urges people to follow the recommendations and restrictions in place in order to stop the spread of the disease. The message reads: “MSAH Epidemic alert:COVID-19 is worsening in Finland. Protect yourself & others. Please follow regional recommendations & restrictions. Read more thl.fi/regions”.The regional recommendations and restrictions are available on the websites of the hospital districts. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare has compiled the addresses of these websites on one page:The COVID-19 epidemic: regional situation, recommendations and restrictions (THL)The text message is one of the measures used to convey information about the worsening COVID-19 situation. The text will be sent in Finnish, Swedish, English and North Saami. The operators will start sending the messages on Wednesday 2 December. They will receive the assignment before noon and the service will start soon after that. The messages will be sent in stages so people may receive them at different times. 

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi