HELSINKI, July 30 -- Finland's Minister for Labor, Arto Satonen, pledged more government support to migrant Thai berry pickers on Tuesday, describing wrongdoings in the Finnish berry industry as "serious" and "very deplorable."

Satonen made the statement following remote talks with Thai Labor Minister Phipat Ratchakitprakarn. Thailand had suspended issuing exit permits to Thais for berry picking in Finland following reports that Thai pickers are living in dire conditions in the country.

Satonen said Thailand would now only be prepared to allow berry pickers to leave for Finland, following "a final check of their earnings level" there.

Following years of scandals and several high-profile police investigations, which resulted in charges of human trafficking against the management of berry purchasing companies, Finland introduced a reform this year ensuring that Thai pickers receive proper employment contracts and salaries. The country has issued 900 employee residence permits for berry pickers so far this year, but Thailand has delayed giving them exit permits.

POOR CONDITIONS

Until recently, the pickers had arrived in Finland as tourists and sold their berries to berry processing companies as entrepreneurs. However, the Thais became totally dependent on these companies, who had often paid their airfares to Finland. The companies and Thai intermediaries levied various fees on the workers, and often at the end of the season, the berry pickers owed money to the companies. The pickers were also given substandard dwellings and food. According to newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, some had eaten the roadkill to survive, as the food provided was not sufficient. The newspaper described the conditions as bordering on slavery.

In one of the first trials against the berry purchasers, the Finnish Supreme Court sentenced the company owner in 2022 to a year and 10 months imprisonment for 26 cases of human trafficking. The case had begun in 2016. Currently, several investigations are underway. It is reported that the current investigations amount to the largest case of human trafficking in Finnish history.

LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Minister Satonen said that Finnish authorities have worked hard to ensure safe working conditions for the Thai workers and that companies in the sector must now act responsibly. He said the Finnish government would continue working with Thailand "for a lasting solution for the earning conditions of the Thai pickers." The Thais would, in the future, have the status of seasonal agricultural workers, he added.

According to Finnish media reports, the average earnings per hour of the pickers in recent years has been 1.80 euros (1.95 U.S. dollars) per hour. Under the new system, the salary levels of the Finnish Agricultural Works tariff agreement would be regulated, with the lowest salary rising to 9.8 euros per hour. Finland has no general minimum salary, but the union rates for each sector are mandatory.

The wild berry business is based on the Finnish "everyman's right." No permit from landowners is required to pick wild berries, except in the immediate vicinity of houses. Until 2005, companies purchased their berries from Finnish pickers, but switched to foreign labor due to its reduced cost. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollar)

  - Xinhua