Amendment of the Civilian Crisis Management Act strengthens the role of the Crisis Management Centre Finland
The operating conditions of the Crisis Management Centre Finland (CMC Finland) will be strengthened and the rights and responsibilities of experts deployed abroad will be clarified. On 4 October, the Government submitted a proposal to Parliament on the amendment of the Acts concerning civilian crisis management. The intention is for the amendments to enter into force on 1 January 2019.
"With this reform, we make it easier especially for people with families to seek a posting in secretariat tasks of civilian crisis management. At the same time we will improve Finland’s possibilities to recruit the best possible experts," says Minister of the Interior Kai Mykkänen.
The revision of legislation responds to changes that have occurred in civilian crisis management. Finland is strongly involved in the missions of its traditional civilian crisis management partners — the EU, the OSCE and the UN — as well as the current coalition against ISIL in Iraq. At the same time, more Finns are working in the secretariats of international organisations. In addition, international civil protection missions have become increasingly differentiated from civilian crisis management.
Provisions relating to compensation clarified
The provisions concerning the compensation for conditions paid to people working in civilian crisis management tasks will be clarified. Unlike for field missions, the same compensation for conditions has been paid for secretariat tasks even though the actual cost levels of cities differ from each other. In the future, the system applied by the Foreign Ministry when compensating for missions abroad would be used to determine separate compensations for conditions for all secretariat cities.
People working in secretariats will be compensated for their children’s school and daycare costs against the real costs, by adapting the Foreign Ministry’s compensation system. The reform is important especially for women with families, who are under-represented in crisis management tasks when compared against single people and men with families.
In addition, the system whereby people in field tasks are paid supplementary compensation for adverse circumstances affecting their health, safety and comfort will also be clarified for each sector.
Administration of CMC Finland to be transferred under the Ministry of the Interior
The administrative status of CMC Finland and the possibilities of developing its prerequisites for operations were assessed during bill drafting. CMC Finland currently operates as a unit of the Emergency Services College, but it will be transferred administratively under the Ministry of the Interior as of 1 January 2019. The Ministry of the Interior will operate as the administrative agency of CMC Finland and will provide administrative and support services for the Centre.
Tasks associated with international civil protection will continue to be managed at the Emergency Services College in Kuopio. In other words, civilian crisis management and international civil protection will be differentiated administratively. The Civilian Crisis Management Act would still be applied to the employment relationship of personnel participating in international civil protection and to the personnel’s status in assistance work.
Inquiries:
Chief Specialist Tapio Puurunen, tel. +358 295 488 254, [email protected]