Thai authorities still do not allow pickers to enter Finland

A decision on allowing Thai berry pickers into Finland has not yet been made. Finnish and Thai authorities discussed the matter remotely on Friday.

Advisor to the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Labor and Economy Jarmo Tikkanen told STT that Thai authorities still want to conduct an internal investigation into the pickers’ employment contracts and their contents.

– Now that the pickers’ employment contracts already stipulate an hourly wage, Thai authorities remain concerned about whether this will provide the pickers with adequate income and security.

According to Labor Minister Tiukkanen Alto Satomori (The company) is due to discuss the matter with Thailand’s labor minister on Tuesday.

“We hope that by then the problem will be resolved and pickers will be able to reach the country,” Tikkanen said.

Tikkanen said the discussions with the Thai authorities were in a good mood and that they covered, among other things, employment relations, laws and what kind of protection the pickers have under the collective agreement.

In addition, Thai authorities were informed of the procedures required before granting employees a residence permit.

Tikkanen said he was confident the pickers would still be allowed into Finland as the Thai authorities had not raised any additional concerns during discussions.

– The discussion concluded that the situation of the pickers has now improved.

Thai authorities have previously not allowed pickers to enter Finland during the current harvest season due to problems in the berry industry and serious allegations of human trafficking.

“Now is the critical moment”

Due to problems in the industry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in the spring that pickers would no longer be able to come to Finland on tourist visas. During this harvest season, companies must recruit pickers for employment, in which case they need to hold an employee residence permit to come to Finland.

The Finnish Immigration Service has issued employee residence permits to 900 pickers. The pickers also need an exit permit from Thai authorities to enter the country.

Executive director of the Arctic Spice Association, the industry’s interest group Birgitta Partanen The decision to allow berry pickers to come to Finland has been delayed for a long time, the company told STT.

– The purpose of the employment contract is to ensure an income for Thai pickers, but now we are moving in the exact opposite direction. Picking days are getting shorter and shorter, and pickers are working shorter hours.

Partanen believes that once it was known that pickers were being recruited into an employment relationship, discussions should have been held with Thai authorities.

Partanen said it was difficult to estimate when the pickers would stop arriving in Finland.

– Yes, now is a critical moment.

Finland’s workforce needs strengthening

Partanen said it was also important in the berry industry to try to activate Finnish pickers, many of whom often prefer to sell the berries themselves so they can get the best price.

However, Partanen said raising berry prices would not be simple for berry companies, as they would have to remain competitive with foreign berries.

– Yes, many Finns will collect berries even if the price is bad, because they believe that berries are worth more than just money. We should have a comprehensive network of purchase points or effectively utilized mobile shopping carts, because if sales are very difficult, then it will become boring.