Immigrant workers to get govt protection

The government has taken an initiative to protect immigrant workers from exploitation in the labour market.

A working group set up by the government in March is going to propose punitive measures against the employers if any allegation of exploiting foreign workers is found, reported the national broadcaster Yle.

Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen on Thursday described the situation as unfair to the foreign workers.

The working group observed that the exploitation of foreign labour is not a marginal phenomenon in Finland and indifference to the problem must be stopped.

“As we have learned from the media, the situation at its worst means not only non-payment of social security fees but also serious exploitation of foreign workers,” Haatainen told a press conference.

She said new measures are needed also to “protect the reputation of law-abiding employers.

Earlier, on July 5, Prime Minister Sanna Marin emphasised the necessity of bringing changes to the law and strengthening public authorities to take proper measures against abuse of workers in the country’s labour market.

Her remarks followed a report run by a Finnish language daily, Helsingin Sanomat, which disclosed a number of incidents of abuse of workers in the cleaning sector.

In the investigative report, the Helsingin Sanomat said some of the victims described their situation as inhuman and reminiscent of human trafficking.

Based on the interviews with dozens of cleaning workers and employers, the report said workers very often need to deal with overly long working days, insufficient breaks, and no time off.

It found massive irregularities in treatment of workers by cleaning firms that provide services to municipal schools and day-care centres.

The cleaning companies engage many immigrant-background people and refugees who may not necessarily be aware of workers’ rights, job contracts or labour laws.

They are generally supposed to be afraid of losing their jobs, which may cause their deportation, if they complain against the abuse, the Helsingin Sanomat report added.