Working Against Exploi­ta­tion – “A Union Member Never Has to Fight Alone”

The exploi­ta­tion of foreign workers at Finnish workplaces has made head­li­nes. On 27 Septem­ber, STT repor­ted exploi­ta­tion, such as exces­si­vely long work­days and unpaid wage supple­ments, commit­ted by subcont­rac­ting compa­nies at the Turku shipyard.

A book by repor­ter Paavo Teit­ti­nen, Pitkä vuoro – kuinka moderni orjuus juur­tui Suomeen (”The Long Shift – How Modern Slavery Took Root in Finland”), was publis­hed on 29 Septem­ber. In it, Teit­ti­nen writes about a widespread culture of exploi­ta­tion and gives nume­rous examples.

Riikka Vasama, the head of the Industrial Union’s Foreign Labour Unit, says that the union’s message is clear: exploi­ta­tion of any kind is unaccep­table, and work is cons­tantly being done to combat the phenomenon.

– We struggle with issues like these every day. Even though our work­days are already filled with cases, we feel that we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg, Vasama says.

Exploi­ta­tion beneath the surface can be addres­sed when workers with a foreign background join the Industrial Union, speak about their expe­riences and trust the union’s help.

– Be brave and join the union. A union member never has to fight alone. The Industrial Union is a strong actor through which members encoun­te­ring problems in working life can get their voices heard.

Even though our work­days are already filled with cases, we feel that we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Vasama under­li­nes that all commu­nica­tion with the union is confi­den­tial. Issues are only acted on with the member’s permission.

– We recom­mend repor­ting any obser­va­tions to us so that we can assist the autho­ri­ties in preven­ting labour exploi­ta­tion and influence the deve­lop­ment of legis­la­tion. Change is possible.

SUPPORT AND LEGAL AID

A member of the Industrial Union gains access to all the union’s services. The union’s assis­tance ranges from simple advice on work-rela­ted ques­tions to, in extreme cases, long legal batt­les in the courts.

Prima­rily, legal aid may be gran­ted to those, who have been union members for at least 3 months before the events that have led to the legal issue. If legal aid is gran­ted, the union will cover all costs of the legal process. This means that there is no mone­tary risk for the member, and the member recei­ves any possible compen­sa­tion awar­ded by the court in full.

– It’s a good idea to join the union well ahead of time and not when the problem is already at hand, Vasama says.

In problems rela­ted to emplo­y­ment rela­tions­hips, a worker with a foreign background may contact the Occu­pa­tio­nal Safety and Health Admi­ni­stra­tion, the Finnish Immi­gra­tion Service and the police. For those unfa­mi­liar with the Finnish system, finding the correct autho­rity can be difficult.

– All of this can be taken care of toget­her with the union, once you’re a member.

The autho­ri­ties cannot help with all work-rela­ted problems.

– For example, the Occu­pa­tio­nal Safety and Health Admi­ni­stra­tion will not demand unpaid wages from the emplo­yer. Non-members have a lower level of legal protection.

LEGISLATION TOO LENIENT

Deci­sion-makers and autho­ri­ties have a lot to do in order to make the Finnish labour market fairer than it is now. Sanc­tions for brea­king the law and other rules should be hars­her, and more resources should be alloca­ted to monitoring.

– Toug­her laws on labour market crime are abso­lu­tely needed. The current legis­la­tion is much too lenient on these issues, Vasama says.

One weak­ness of the law concerns wages. In Finland, it is not a punis­hable offence to leave wages unpaid. It is possible to demand payment through the courts, but there are no sanc­tions for the emplo­yer if their actions do not meet the legal charac­te­ris­tics of usury, for example.

– Throug­hout the years, I have come across deci­sion-makers and emplo­yers downplaying the pheno­me­non, Vasama says.

Every­body needs to recog­nize that this is a widespread pheno­me­non, and that action needs to be taken.

The number of publicized instances makes it clear that labour exploi­ta­tion is no longer a matter of rare, isola­ted cases.

– Every­body needs to recog­nize that this is a widespread pheno­me­non, and that action needs to be taken.

There have been some impro­ve­ments to the legis­la­tion in recent years. A victim of exploi­ta­tion or major neglect by the emplo­yer may now apply for an exten­ded resi­dence permit that allows working in any field of work. Previously, a victim of exploi­ta­tion ran the risk of ending up with nothing when repor­ting abuse, as the emplo­y­ment rela­tions­hip, on which their resi­dence permit was based, came to an end.

– It is fortu­nate that legis­la­tive chan­ges such as this have been made in recent years. Howe­ver, resi­dence permits of this type are not applied for very often, Vasama says.

THE PHENOMENON AFFECTS EVERYONE

Labor exploi­ta­tion affects virtually all sectors of the economy. There have been visible problems on shipy­ards and in the fore­stry, agricul­ture, horticul­ture, forest berry picking and construc­tion sectors, among others.

– The risk factors vary between sectors. For example, in ship­buil­ding and fore­stry, long subcont­rac­ting chains cons­ti­tute a risk. It is impor­tant to strengt­hen the obli­ga­tions and liabi­li­ties of the main cont­rac­tor, Vasama says.

The story of Ukrai­nians flee­ing the war and ending up exploi­ted in the Finnish labour market is a dark one. Howe­ver, labour exploi­ta­tion is an older pheno­me­non and not limi­ted to certain natio­na­li­ties. Trampling on the emplo­y­ment condi­tions of workers with a foreign background makes the situa­tion of every­body working in Finland worse.

– Exploi­ta­tion concerns all natio­na­li­ties. The risk if grea­ter when workers lack language skills or know­ledge about Finnish working life.

Beco­ming an active member in the union provi­des a chance to influence the union’s acti­vi­ties, the labour market and society in general.

– The union educa­tes its members. Through the union, you can become a conscious actor as well as network and make friends, Vasama says.

Read the article in Finnish!