More proof that new laws and regulations do very little to asphyxiate a problem..

Speaking in an Akava meeting, Mr Piekka added that the prevalence of fixed-term contracts had not decreased. A revision to the employment act, which came into force four years ago, stipulates that problems related to fixed-term agreements are to be fixed.

Mr Piekka underscored that the state had the most fixed-term employees, despite a 2003 Ministry of Finance guidelines to make employment contracts permanent. He quoted statistics as saying that only a quarter of women aged under 30 and a third of men in the same age group employed by the state had permanent jobs.