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  • Scandinavia : Berry Pickers

    http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.ph...&news_id=10879

  • #2
    Human trafficking charges filed against berry entrepreneur
    16.2.2017

    A total of 26 Thai plaintiffs are involved in a case brought against a man in central Finland for human trafficking. The more than two dozen berry-pickers are thought to have been held in conditions likened to forced labour.


    Berry-picking is a physically demanding form of labour.
    Image: Jarkko Riikonen / Yle Keski-Suomi

    Central Finland district prosecutor Leena Hakavuori has pressed human trafficking charges against a local entrepreneur on Wednesday.

    The charge is based on the man's berry-picking company's activities, namely its use of pickers recruited from Thailand.

    The accused is suspected of keeping 26 Thai workers in forced labour and in conditions violating human dignity.

    Police performed a home search and investigation last August, as well as preliminary interviews with all of the workers enlisted in the company.

    Police spoke with 183 Thai berry-pickers, 42 of whom spoke of poor working conditions they wanted authorities to investigate.

    The accused has denied being guilty of the crimes.

    yle.fi
    http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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    • #3
      Berry picking: Ukrainians in the strawberry fields make double the wages of Thais in the forest
      30.7.2017

      Finland's berry picking industry offers different pay to different workers, with the often Thai migrant workers picking forest berries generally getting the smallest pay packets.


      The berries in your local market were likely picked by very low-paid migrant workers.
      Image: Krista Holappa / Yle Losses possibleHourly pay"Not sustainable"

      The base pay is 8.29 euros per hour, but different supplements can increase that to around 11 euros per hour. The terms and conditions are governed by a collective agreement, working time is 40 hours per week, and any overtime should be paid.

      Wallin's recommendation that berry firms be forced to sign collective agreements has not gone anywhere since 2014, largely because those companies "don't want to employ pickers", according to Interior ministry official Harri Sivula.

      "It's not really sustainable," said Sivula.

      The pickers' status as entrepreneurs saves the berry firms a lot of money. The cost of social insurance and pension payments would make many firms unviable, according to Arctic International's CEO Janne Naapanki.

      No political will

      "At least this firm would shut down," said Naapanki.

      Naapanki also expressed the worry that pickers might get lazy, spending time in the forests relaxing rather than picking berries, if they were guaranteed an hourly wage. That is, however, a risk in any workplace.

      In Sweden companies have been forced to stop paying by the kilo, although they now prefer to hire pickers through agencies rather than directly. There is however no plan to follow suit in Finland, according to Economy and Employment ministry official Olli Sorainen.

      "There is no consensus within the government," said Sorainen.

      Sivula agrees, noting the lack of political will to improve the lot of forest-based pickers.

      "Thais come here voluntarily," said Sivula. "There's no political pressure to resolve the issue. This is not a big problem in society."

      SourcesYle

      yle.fi
      http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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      • #4
        40 Thai berry pickers to testify in human trafficking trial in Finnish court
        19.10.2017

        A Finnish berry entrepreneur faces human trafficking charges at Central Finland District Court in a criminal trial which is expected to last months.

        The head of the firm is accused of bringing Thai nationals to Finland and forcing them to work under conditions which violated human dignity.



        Migrant Thai worker picking bilberries, file photo. Bilberries - also known as wild European blueberries - look like small blueberries.
        Image: Yle

        The head of a Finnish berry company faces possible penalties of a three-year prison sentence and paying compensation of some 60,000 euros to the company

        Due to anticipated testimony from some 40 witnesses from abroad, the trial is expected to last into December.

        The berry firm chief stands accused of forcing 26 Thai migrant labourers to work under inhumane conditions during the summer of 2016.

        The prosecutor says that the berry picking company housed the visiting pickers in shipping containers or in buses and that the pickers' passports were seized when they arrived.

        Prosecutor: Pickers paid one euro per litre, forced to pay for equipment

        According to the prosecutor the workers were forced to pay for necessary items like accommodation and transportation.

        The workers were also allegedly forced to pay for required berry-picking tools, while only being paid one euro per litre of bilberries they managed to pick. The workers allegedly worked 12 to 15 hours per day, every day of the week, for the duration of their stay in Finland.

        The prosecutor claims that some of the workers did not manage to earn any money the entire season, but rather were in debt to the company in the lopsided arrangement.

        The defendant has denied the charges made against him.

        According to the prosecutor the defendant took advantage of the workers' situation, because they could not speak the language and did not have any money to begin with.

        Some 40 former employees of the company are expected to be flown from Thailand to testify in the trial, which will likely conclude in the middle of December.

        Trial likely costlypaper on October 10.

        *Bilberries look like small blueberries and are also known as wild European blueberries.

        yle.fi
        http://thailandchatter.com/showthrea...ll=1#post45112

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