DOE to send 3,500 Thai workers to pick wild berries in Finland

[webfact]

DOE to send 3,500 Thai workers to pick wild berries in Finland

BANGKOK, 19 February 2015 (NNT) - The Department of Employment (DOE) is prepared to send 3,500 Thai laborers to work as ranch hands in Finland, while the Finnish government assures their fair treatment.

DOE Director General Sumet Mahosot revealed that a meeting between the Embassy of Finland and the department was held to discuss employment details of the Thai workers. The workers will be employed at wild berry farms in the european nation.

Thailand has decided to authorize only 3,500 laborers, instead of the full 5,000 initially requested by the Finnish government. The decision was made on the grounds that there might not be enough wild berries.

The Finnish government has promised to provide free accommodation, outerwear and transportation to Thai workers. The Finnish government assured that the produce will be bought at reasonable prices.

Thai migrant workers are eligible to extend their employment if they earned less year-on-year. DOE staff will also visit Thai workers in Finland to report their living conditions. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply only through job agencies approved by the department.


-- NNT 2015-02-19

[daoyai]

ranch hands?

[kieran2698]

"The Finnish government assured that the produce will be bought at reasonable prices."

That doesn't sound like employment.

[Anthony5]

Next thread will be titled, same as every previous year, Thai berry pickers cheated in Finland.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Anthony5

[longstebe]

Can I put the wife's name down?

[Crazy chef 1]

Can I put the wife's name down

is she experienced in picking "berries"???

[kieran2698]

Migrant workers from outside the EU are being invited to become self employed on a tourist visa. The big question is why is this being allowed within the EU?

[fitzcaraldo]

Better finland than dubai or lettonia

[Basil B]

I thought with the EU rules those jobs should go to EU nationals first?

The Finns will be most welcome to come to the UK and press gang some of our work shy benefit claimants.

[kieran2698]

I thought with the EU rules those jobs should go to EU nationals first?

The Finns will be most welcome to come to the UK and press gang some of our work shy benefit claimants.

If they can't find Eastern Europeans to do this work then there is something wrong with it and considering the past record of wild berry picking in Finland and Sweden it is clear that the problem is the workers just can't find enough berries to cover the high living costs in the area.

[Strangebrew]

What type berries? did I hear it right as dingle berries?

[Thailand]

Authorised human trafficking?

[scorecard]

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"The Finnish government assured that the produce will be bought at reasonable prices."

That doesn't sound like employment.

Does that mean that the pickers will only be paid when the berries are sold and according to the selling price?

Hope those interested can easily find the names of the 20 approved job agencies and hope they are all frequently monitored for no games and severely punished (minimum of 2 years jail if they do play games.

[longstebe]

Can I put the wife's name down

is she experienced in picking "berries"???

Hey you, ya cheeky monkey!

[Mister Fixit]

So what will the average weekly pay be? No good saying it will be 'reasonable'.

And the working hours? Dawn till dusk?

[kieran2698]

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"The Finnish government assured that the produce will be bought at reasonable prices."

That doesn't sound like employment.

Does that mean that the pickers will only be paid when the berries are sold and according to the selling price?

Hope those interested can easily find the names of the 20 approved job agencies and hope they are all frequently monitored for no games and severely punished (minimum of 2 years jail if they do play games.

Exactly when the pickers will be paid is not clear. What has been done in the past is the workers paid 75,000 Baht upfront in exchange for a promised earnings of 91,000 Baht per month but this was dependent on them meeting a minimum quota which they did not. Many complained of actually increasing their debt whilst working in Finland.

The EU requested Finland to clarify the status of the Thai workers two years ago, as they have been taken in on tourist visas and thus denied all Finnish employment rights. This is in direct contradiction to EU law but nothing changed last year and I suspect the same will be the case this season.

[FangFerang]

After reading some comments, it seems a few years back they overhired and left some workers stranded. The Thais intelligently reacted to that. Now I'm REALLY baffled.

[angiolo]

Well this very odd Here in Thailand most menial jobs are not done by Thais,.What is the attraction for Thai people to crawl about for many hours doing a tiresome job . The rate of pay cant be much. Who pays for the air fares ?

[Thian]

So they are not guaranteed a minimum wage?

This stinks, if they can't find other EU-workers then something is wrong. There are loads of East Europeans who will come if there's work.

And what if they need healthcare? Or want to leave because they can't eat moosemeat? Or go crazy from the mozzies? Or commit a crime?

[maidee]

thai workers in one of the coldest countries on earth ? they already scream FREEZING when it is only 10 - 15 degrees

cannot find RUSSIANS or whatever imported nationality ?

[kieran2698]

So they are not guaranteed a minimum wage?

This stinks, if they can't find other EU-workers then something is wrong. There are loads of East Europeans who will come if there's work.

And what if they need healthcare? Or want to leave because they can't eat moosemeat? Or go crazy from the mozzies? Or commit a crime?

At least not in the past and it doesn't sound like they will be offered a minimum wage this year either judging by the article. I don't think these companies could actually make a profit on Finnish minimum wages so they offer a piece rate instead and look to Asia for staff.

Presumably the piece rate is too low to attract the many unemployed Latvians who are so close to hand and who only expect to receive a wage approximately 1/4 of which a Finn expects.

As they are on a tourist visa their EU healthcare or a necessary early return to Thailand would be their responsibility alone. These are both questions raised by the EU in 2013 and issues which apparently have been left unaddressed. Committing a crime might well be their best option, then the could argue in court that they felt forced into petty crime by being enslaved.

I have seen it in the UK, Eastern Europeans promised a chance to earn a decent wage but instead just losing out. They were waiting in caravans whilst living off their savings, many gave up and went home broke, through endless weeks of rain. This is the reality of farming, things do not always go as expected and are dependent on the climate. But when importing workers from a very different economy any risks and losses should be borne by the farmer alone, the workers should not even have to pay upfront, certainly not more than their airfare.

These companies want it all, they want the cheapest labor possible and then make them take all the risk. At least Thailand has stepped in and ensured that they are given free accommodation as some were being charged even when there was no work and also restricted the numbers as the high numbers of workers was the main cause of the problem last time.

[northernboy]

Good to see so many people here are worried about Thai workers being exploited or taken advantage of by the Thai Department of Labour or it is better they stay home and their sister's farang husbands supporting them?

The world is a hard place if your have to earn a living by manual labour, thank God for sisters in Thailand or Finland !

[Wat dee]

So what will the average weekly pay be? No good saying it will be 'reasonable'.

And the working hours? Dawn till dusk?

Dawn till dusk? In Nordic, Land of the Midnight SUN Good luck

[nuananddon]

If they're expected to work dawn until dusk that means a 20 hour work day, Finland is so far north that in the summer the sun hardy ever sets. That's why they call those countries The Lands of the mid-night sun. They better take lots of bug repellant or they will need a transfusion by the end of the day. Just saying, it doesn't appear to be an ideal job.

[hanno]

So they are not guaranteed a minimum wage?

This stinks, if they can't find other EU-workers then something is wrong. There are loads of East Europeans who will come if there's work.

And what if they need healthcare? Or want to leave because they can't eat moosemeat? Or go crazy from the mozzies? Or commit a crime?

Actually, no. With economies in the East doing pretty well, there is no real incentive to do this kind of job. Strawberries and Asparagus used to get picked by Poles in Germany (too much work for your average German on the dole); not anymore. Farmers are having rea; problems getting their harvests in.

[Lupatria]

Why? No job offers being made to clean toilets in Beijing?

[Toknarok]

Worst job scenario - look at this If bad language offends simply delete

[Wat dee]

So they are not guaranteed a minimum wage?

This stinks, if they can't find other EU-workers then something is wrong. There are loads of East Europeans who will come if there's work.

And what if they need healthcare? Or want to leave because they can't eat moosemeat? Or go crazy from the mozzies? Or commit a crime?

At least not in the past and it doesn't sound like they will be offered a minimum wage this year either judging by the article. I don't think these companies could actually make a profit on Finnish minimum wages so they offer a piece rate instead and look to Asia for staff.

Presumably the piece rate is too low to attract the many unemployed Latvians who are so close to hand and who only expect to receive a wage approximately 1/4 of which a Finn expects.

As they are on a tourist visa their EU healthcare or a necessary early return to Thailand would be their responsibility alone. These are both questions raised by the EU in 2013 and issues which apparently have been left unaddressed. Committing a crime might well be their best option, then the could argue in court that they felt forced into petty crime by being enslaved.

I have seen it in the UK, Eastern Europeans promised a chance to earn a decent wage but instead just losing out. They were waiting in caravans whilst living off their savings, many gave up and went home broke, through endless weeks of rain. This is the reality of farming, things do not always go as expected and are dependent on the climate. But when importing workers from a very different economy any risks and losses should be borne by the farmer alone, the workers should not even have to pay upfront, certainly not more than their airfare.

These companies want it all, they want the cheapest labor possible and then make them take all the risk. At least Thailand has stepped in and ensured that they are given free accommodation as some were being charged even when there was no work and also restricted the numbers as the high numbers of workers was the main cause of the problem last time.

These people are picking natural berries and/or strawberries. So their success depends on how good is the season. Recent "problems" were caused by nature. Too much or not enough rain.Too cold or too warm and the season is 2 weeks instead of normal 8. It is very hard to know, 6 months ahead, how is the crops going to be this summer.So I don't think it is the greed that dictates number of workers, but previous season. Also about minimum wages. Minimum wage in Finland must be well over 1000 euros. I wouldn't fly hundreds of people across the globe. Letting them loose in to the forest and hope they are actually working instead of picking their noses, and getting 50k for doing it!

I know people who have done this earlier(Mrs.). On good years they made around 7-10 k in about two months.Shitty year and greedy Thai middle-man, two months and you end up with lot less money. Picking wild berries is tax-free in Finland.

[Thian]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

So they are not guaranteed a minimum wage?

This stinks, if they can't find other EU-workers then something is wrong. There are loads of East Europeans who will come if there's work.

And what if they need healthcare? Or want to leave because they can't eat moosemeat? Or go crazy from the mozzies? Or commit a crime?

At least not in the past and it doesn't sound like they will be offered a minimum wage this year either judging by the article. I don't think these companies could actually make a profit on Finnish minimum wages so they offer a piece rate instead and look to Asia for staff.

Presumably the piece rate is too low to attract the many unemployed Latvians who are so close to hand and who only expect to receive a wage approximately 1/4 of which a Finn expects.

As they are on a tourist visa their EU healthcare or a necessary early return to Thailand would be their responsibility alone. These are both questions raised by the EU in 2013 and issues which apparently have been left unaddressed. Committing a crime might well be their best option, then the could argue in court that they felt forced into petty crime by being enslaved.

I have seen it in the UK, Eastern Europeans promised a chance to earn a decent wage but instead just losing out. They were waiting in caravans whilst living off their savings, many gave up and went home broke, through endless weeks of rain. This is the reality of farming, things do not always go as expected and are dependent on the climate. But when importing workers from a very different economy any risks and losses should be borne by the farmer alone, the workers should not even have to pay upfront, certainly not more than their airfare.

These companies want it all, they want the cheapest labor possible and then make them take all the risk. At least Thailand has stepped in and ensured that they are given free accommodation as some were being charged even when there was no work and also restricted the numbers as the high numbers of workers was the main cause of the problem last time.

This gives Finnland and the whole EU a bad name, it is slavery and i think illegal as well. I thought the Finnish economy went well and they didn't need traps like this to survive. I don't want to have anything to do with a country like that, yes i'm a european as well. Also i don't understand why they want Thai and not Indians or so.

Well they get what they deserve, Thai workers from upcountry. What if they drive a motobike against traffic and cause a huge accident? Or will they be prisoners on the farms?

I guess the Thai workers and the Finnish government/farmers will all loose money on this. Also i never met any tourist from Finnland, not her and not anywhere on the world. Swedes, Norway, Danes sure but no Finns but there are only 5 million of them so maybe that's why.

I know Thai who work in Sweden as expats but they get the same salary as a Swede and also bought houses. They don't like the climate though

[LuckyLew]

Does not matter how bad they are treated in Finland ... still pretty sure it will be better than Thais treat foreign workers/slaves

Makes me cringe every time I go by a construction site and see the tinfoil housing set up for the workers