Finland eases requirements for berry camp locations, raising concerns over foreign worker conditions

Conditions for foreign berry pickers in Finland may soon become less transparent, as companies are no longer required to notify authorities about the locations of their berry camps. Previously, businesses were mandated to report their camp locations to regional administrative authorities. If the berry pickers are employees of a company, the locations do not need to be disclosed, complicating oversight of these camps. Markku Rautio, head of occupational safety at the Eastern Finland regional authority, expressed concerns that this could lead to a cat-and-mouse game with companies.

In the spring, Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs halted the processing of visa applications from Thailand due to serious allegations involving the berry industry, impacting Thailand and its neighboring countries, Cambodia and Myanmar. Workers from these countries need both a job offer and a residence permit to enter Finland. Although Finland issued residence permits to 900 pickers, the Thai government did not provide exit permits, allowing some pickers to arrive in Finland without such documentation.

Authorities recently discovered 150 berry pickers in the forests of Kainuu, surprising them due to previously limited knowledge about the number of foreign workers currently in Finnish forests. The Finnish Immigration Service has issued work permits to four companies, and while some pickers have also been found in areas like Posiolle and Pudasjärvi, oversight visits to berry camps have revealed issues in work shift documentation and training.

A law regulating the employment conditions of foreign berry pickers, intended to prevent exploitation, went into effect three years ago, but no criminal reports have arisen under the law. Rautio highlighted the challenges of enforcing compliance under the current legal framework, as the law lacks mechanisms for issuing warnings or penalties.