Thailand has demanded an explanation from the Finnish authorities for several coronavirus epidemics that occur this summer among Thai citizens working as berry pickers in Finland.
More than 200 workers have been diagnosed with Covid since early August.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the berry companies Arctic International and Polarica transported at least 260 foreign berry pickers from Lapland to eastern Finland, even though most of them were infected or exposed to the coronavirus.
In response to the ongoing situation, the Ambassador of Finland to Thailand Chavanart Thangsumphant, said berry picking companies that hired Thai migrant workers signed an agreement to protect their health amid a continuing coronavirus epidemic.
"We are now waiting for the authorities to find out whether or not the companies have fully and properly complied with the terms of the agreement," Thangsumphant said.
The terms of the contract oblige berry companies to take care of temporary workers and provide appropriate care and compensation if they get Covid disease. The conditions also set out the conditions for the employer’s obligation to provide health insurance, accommodation and transport.
The agreement also stipulates that employees must be compensated if they are quarantined, and that companies are obliged to pay compensation if an employee dies of the disease while in Finland.
Under the agreement, companies will have to pay an amount of about โฌ 25,500 to the employee’s family in the event of their death from a coronavirus.
Freelancers vs employees
Thangsumphant said Thailand hopes that Finnish berry companies will recognize the pickers they hire as employees and give them rights under local labor laws.
"In this way, collectors could be guaranteed fair and equal rights to, among other things, well-being and health, just as Finnish workers have" Thangsumphant said.
The ambassador also said that Thailand wants to speed up the exchange of information with the Finnish authorities in cases where Thai workers have problems with health or working conditions. Thangsumphant said that the embassy hopes that the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs will take action quickly.
Thangsumphant noted that Thailand has been in contact with the Finnish authorities since the berry pickers discovered the first Covid infections. The embassy has asked the Finnish authorities to investigate the residential areas of the employees in order to find out the cause of the infectious diseases.
The ambassador said he believed that the Finnish authorities did their best to protect the berry pickers. He stated that in his opinion the guarantees required by Finnish law are intended to prevent the exploitation of foreign workers.
Rules and regulations
Some of the coronavirus epidemics occurred in Lapland, and the regional government agency (Avi) plans to investigate safety-related measures in berry picking uniforms. Sari Kemppainen.
He said Avi looked like the berry companies, together with the Lapland Hospital District, had planned how to treat workers when they arrived in the country.
"Such guidelines have been prepared and issued by the Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Ministry of Economy and Labor. The responsibility for implementing the instructions lies with the berry companies," Kemppainen explained.
Adviser to the Government of the Ministry of Labor Olli Sorainen said that the instructions given to the berry companies were clear, adding that the companies were also responsible for ensuring that the pickers’ accommodation was safe and in line with regulatory standards.
Sorainen said that Finland should consider amending such regulations to ensure the health and safety of workers.
"A separate project will be launched in the autumn to monitor the circumstances of foreign workers and the possible sanctions for non-compliance," Sorainen said.
THL expert Jari Jalava said the laws should address the conditions under which workers are brought into the country. Health authorities cannot intervene, and the Communicable Diseases Act does not address the issue.
Coronavirus infection groups began to spread rapidly among berry pickers at the beginning of this month, despite the fact that the workers were tested when they arrived in Finland.
Earlier this week, the Chief of Infectious Diseases of the Lapland Hospital District, Markku Broas, stated that the quarantine rules and the Infectious Diseases Act were violated in connection with the transfer of sick workers to Kainuu and North Karelia.
Broas said he doubted the root cause of the infection groups was due to the Covid tests when the workers arrived in Finland. The tests did not immediately identify new infections, leading to the rapid spread of the virus in densely populated groups.
Source: The Nordic Page