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Finland Conditions of Service
The incomes of career military personnel were
considered
adequate, although not generous, in terms of the high
standard of
living in Finnish society generally. Officer and NCO
salary
scales combined with their allowances were intended to be
equivalent to salaries in the civil service, which were
regarded
as somewhat lower than the remuneration for equivalent
forms of
employment in the private sector. As of 1986, the salary
of a
colonel was about Fmk13,000 monthly and that of a major
general
was about Fmk15,700 (for value of the
Finnish mark--see Glossary).
Family allowances, allowances for service under
hardship conditions (e.g., during field exercises in the
far
north, on offshore islands, and at remote coast artillery
sites),
and special allowances (for certain categories of duty,
such as
those of aircraft pilots and naval personnel on sea duty)
were
also paid. The normal work week was forty hours; personnel
through the rank of captain received overtime pay when on
duty
for longer periods. There was no extensive post exchange
or
commissary system. Most career military were privately
housed;
those assigned to base housing were charged a moderate
rent.
Officers attaining at least the rank of major were
eligible
for full retirement twenty-five years after graduating
from the
Military Academy. Promotion through the rank of captain
was
virtually automatic. Those who had attended the Military
Academy
could expect to attain at least the rank of major and
probably
that of lieutenant colonel, but subsequent promotional
opportunities then narrowed sharply. As of 1986, there
were 672
career majors and lieutenant commanders, 250 lieutenant
colonels
and commanders, and 88 colonels and naval captains. There
were
only fourteen major generals and rear admirals and eight
lieutenant generals and vice admirals.
Some captains chose to retire after twenty years of
career
service when their partial pensions were (in 1986) between
Fmk6,800 and Fmk7,800 monthly. One personnel problem
caused by
modest pay was the loss of military pilots to commercial
airlines. An experienced pilot with the rank of captain
could
expect a total income of about Fmk14,000 monthly as of
1988. By
resigning to fly for Finnair, he could raise his monthly
income
to about Fmk20,000.
Conscripts received no pay, but they were paid a modest
daily
expense allowance, a source of some dissatisfaction. It
had,
however, been progressively increased from Fmk6.75 in 1981
to
Fmk17 in December 1987. Many conscripts complained that
they had
been forced to fall back on their personal savings during
their
eight to eleven months of active service. Conscripts were,
however, entitled to educational loans at the conclusion
of their
service, as well as mustering-out bonuses and other
benefits,
including up to ten paid trips home on leave. They were
guaranteed reemployment at the jobs they had held when
they
entered active duty.
Data as of December 1988
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