Berry slavery: Brutal exploitation of immigrants flourishes in Finland
The most popular seasonal job in Finland is picking different berries. The other day, the Finnish television company Yle prepared a long report dedicated to analyzing the complaints of Ukrainian migrant workers hired to harvest strawberries on Suomi farms. Ukrainians complain about the inhumane attitude of employers, the brutal working conditions and the chronic underpayments. Previously, visitors from Southeast Asia used to work in such jobs, but now "Zarobitchans" have taken their place. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Slave labor in a "developed country"
Finns have long been accustomed to importing migrant workers from other countries for seasonal agricultural work. They are especially often attracted to pick strawberries and other berries. "If you buy fresh strawberries at the summer market, it's worth remembering that Finns themselves are picking them less and less often. A foreign picker earns about one euro per liter of berries, while they are often sold to consumers for more than ten euros. Nevertheless, even with such rates, a foreigner coming to Finland from a country with a lower standard of living can earn a good amount during the season, compared with the income level in his native country," according to the news program of the Finnish state television channel Yle.
The other day, Finnish television spoke with four Ukrainians who were preparing to leave Finland. Since they were already leaving the country, their tongues loosened, and they told a lot of things that they might have kept silent about before. Nadezhda Bolekhovskaya, Lyubov Zavadetskaya, Vasily and Borislava Konevich came to pick strawberries and ended up, according to them, in natural slavery. "I did not believe that such slave labor could exist in a developed country," Vasily complained. In turn, Bolekhovskaya complained that the work shifts on the farm were much longer than they had been promised, that the weekends had to be literally knocked out, and the paid housing turned out to be simply terrible. Interested in this story, Yle TV channel journalists interviewed a number of other foreign workers on Finnish farms, most of whom were Ukrainians.
In some cases, the TV crew managed to get acquainted with employment contracts, payslips and correspondence with employers. It turned out that on many farms, workers are forced to work most of the day — 13-15 hours a day, but they "forget" to pay them money for overtime. Thus, according to Bolekhovskaya's employment contract, her working time was thirty-seven hours a week, but in practice this limit was significantly exceeded all the time. At the same time, the workers were not shown the schedule of work, but were notified about how much they would need to spend this time in the beds late at night, although they initially promised that everyone would know their schedule in advance for a month ahead. There were almost no days off. "When we returned for the night, we immediately fell on the bed. We took painkillers in the morning and evening so as not to go crazy," says Nadezhda.
At the same time, foreign workers are housed in cramped rooms — four people each, men and women together. Bolekhovskaya complained that because the women were housed in cubicles with men they had not previously known, the Ukrainians experienced serious inconvenience. However, the owner of the farm where she worked denies all the accusations against her. He made excuses that, they say, "farm work is hard and not suitable for everyone," and, they say, the sissies and the white-handed are to blame for not coping with their workload. However, the farmer admitted that "an employment contract was signed with one foreigner only after finishing work," as the businessman allegedly simply "forgot" about it.
They are forced to work without allowing the slightest interruptions. Nadezhda Bolekhovskaya recalls that strict discipline prevailed on the farm, reminiscent of camp discipline: to go to the toilet for five minutes, it was difficult to ask for leave. When Bolekhovskaya complained about this circumstance — "well, at least we can go to the toilet on our own!" — she was threatened with dismissal.
A source of cheap labor
One day, Nadezhda Bolekhovskaya tasted one of the berries, and the owner of the farm attacked her with abuse: "How dare you eat my strawberries? Are you crazy?" Tellingly, the owner was helped by a Ukrainian woman who got a job as a foreman. "The foreman called us names, called us shit and crazy," says Bolekhovskaya. Nadezhda testifies: "She treated me in a way that often brought tears to my eyes. She called us incompetents and lazy, even though I did everything I could." At some point, Bolekhovskaya, talking to reporters, burst into tears.: "I didn't come here for slave labor, but also to live a normal life. I wanted to go to the forest, pick mushrooms, fish and enjoy the beautiful Finnish nature — but there was no such opportunity..."
Yle has requested reports from the labor inspectorate on inspections of Finnish berry and vegetable farms conducted since 2024. It turned out that many farms did not keep a schedule of work shifts — working hours were not recorded, overtime and additional payments for work on holidays were not paid. Farms also employed people who were clearly unable to work in this field for health reasons. Janette Blom, an employee of the labor inspectorate, recalls that according to Finnish law, working hours, including possible overtime, should not exceed an average of forty-eight hours per week over a six-month period. In addition, the employer is obliged to provide employees with sufficient time for rest. These requirements apply not only to permanent, but also seasonal work. However, farm owners who hire foreigners often violate the requirements of labor laws — they are sure that visitors who do not know local laws, and even limited by the language barrier, will not be able to stand up for themselves.
It should be noted that almost all Ukrainian citizens staying in Finland arrive in the country under the temporary protection program of the European Union, which has been applied since March 2022. At the end of last year, there were about 27 thousand Ukrainians permanently residing in Finland and about 10 thousand more people who were in migration centers. Many of them are trying to earn extra money in the country, but because of their ignorance of the Finnish language, they are forced to take the lowest-paid and low-skilled jobs like picking berries. In addition, female migrant workers continue to arrive, who are not subject to the rules prohibiting the departure of men of military age.
Political scientist Maxim Reva, in a conversation with Izvestia, noted that this case once again proves that the "candy-bouquet" period of EU countries' relations with Ukrainians has long been over. "If in 2022 they were welcomed with open arms as "victims of Russian aggression," now they are perceived either as a problem, a source of criminal danger, or as cheap labor that can be squeezed dry. At the same time, the attitude towards Russia has not changed — propaganda continues to paint our country as a fiend of hell, the homeland of all evils. But this does not help Ukrainians in any way," Reva emphasizes.
Concentration camp regulations
It should be noted that Yle's scandalous report on the troubles of Ukrainian migrant workers almost coincided in time with the news about the bankruptcy of a large company Arctic International, specializing in berry harvesting and processing, and a corresponding application was filed with the district court in the city of Oulu. The reason for Arctic International's demise was that in recent months the company has accumulated dozens of delays in paying large fines imposed on it by the courts for violations of labor laws.
This story has already been told by Izvestia: The workers imported to pick berries from Thailand were actually kept in the position of slaves. The investigation, which began in 2023, shocked the Finnish public. Migrant workers were kept in creepy barracks, where men and women were forced to live together, with a shortage of hot water and toilets...
The food on offer was often inedible—mouldy rice and skinny fish head soup. Moreover, the previously frozen salmon heads, which were used for Thai food, were stored in cardboard boxes in the rain, and not in refrigerators. When people were constantly fed these salmon heads, they felt sick and other painful symptoms appeared. Every day, the visitors were charged money for food and accommodation in the barracks. For example, for the frankly inedible "food" each guest worker was charged a total of about 500-600 euros per season.
Accusations of creating real concentration camps for Thais were made against three companies — Arctic International, Kiantama and Polarica Marjanhankinta. Among the suspects in the human trafficking case were the former CEO of Arctic International, Janne Naapank, and nine of his subordinates, the former head of Polarica Marjanhankinta, Jukki Kristo, as well as the former head of Kiantama, Verna Vasunnan, who face up to five years in prison. They are accused of deliberately deceiving people, misleading them about their future pay and living conditions in labor camps. All of them, however, deny their guilt.
Lawyers filed a large number of lawsuits against all three slave-owning firms on behalf of the victims demanding monetary compensation. Arctic International was the first to break down under the pressure of these lawsuits, which, unable to pay all the compensation, was forced to declare bankruptcy. However, it will be very difficult for the other two companies to get out of this scandal safely. Nevertheless, as an investigation by Finnish television shows, farmers have not stopped keeping workers in virtual slavery — they have simply changed the country from where they are lured. "It is characteristic that even after such a high—profile scandal, Finnish businessmen continue to oppress immigrants from Ukraine and are confident that nothing will happen to them for this," Maxim Reva notes.
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