Exploitation thrives when employees don’t know their rights

The Turku shipyard cases that recently gained national attention, the strawberry farm challenges examined by Yle’s MOT program some time ago, and ongoing questions at construction sites have once again brought the rights of workers arriving from abroad into the spotlight in Finland.

Despite the media storms that periodically resurface, I want to say right at the start that the vast majority of companies do things correctly and want to do things correctly. Industry players form networks and work together to improve the situation and appreciation of international workers in Finland.

Problems arise, however, because a few dishonest and outright criminal actors exploit the fact that workers do not know Finnish labor legislation or their rights.

It is downright deplorable that in 2025, international workers still work in Finland under conditions comparable to slavery. But the good news is that we have tools in our toolkit to solve the situation together. Improving the situation requires more responsibility from Finnish businesses, organizations using subcontractors, and authorities.

Awareness as a burden

One of the most central challenges is workers’ awareness of their own rights and of Finnish society and working life. When a worker arrives in Finland to work and receives more money for the same job than in their home country, they easily perceive the situation as an improvement. However, they may not know that according to the collective agreement they should earn even more, or that according to labor legislation they should also have days off.

In many countries, demanding a recruitment fee for work is also customary. The worker pays for their job. In Finland, paying for a job is unambiguously illegal, but in Vietnam, for example, the threshold fee can exceed two months’ salary. A welder arriving from there does not even realize they have done anything unusual by paying a threshold fee, because customs in their home country differ so greatly and a free job offer may feel like a scam.

Challenges also arise because in many cultures, addressing problems, bringing them up, or challenging the employer are not part of the culture. Fear of losing one’s job or, in the worst case, residence permit is real. Many therefore do not even dare to ask about employment relationship or working condition matters, let alone challenge things presented to them as facts.

The positive aspect here is that raising awareness is a concrete and solvable challenge. When we understand these cultural differences and structural barriers, we can build clearer communication and safer channels. This work requires both companies and authorities.

Authorities do their best

Several different authorities supervise matters concerning workers arriving in Finland from abroad. The Border Guard monitors foreigners coming to Finland and the grounds for their entry. The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) supervises compliance with valid residence permit conditions, Regional State Administrative Agencies handle occupational safety matters, and the police supervise compliance with the Aliens Act and regulations issued under it. Regional State Administrative Agencies monitor foreign workers’ employment during inspection visits.

Authorities often get blamed, but it is important to understand that their task is to implement legislation with the resources available to them. The officials I have met are without exception committed to their work and care about workers’ rights. Their work involves many challenges stemming from structures and operating models that also affect workers’ positions. Authorities operate with the means available to them. The current system simply does not provide adequate tools to respond quickly enough to short-term projects.

For example, Regional State Administrative Agency measures are complicated by the fact that work at construction sites is often chained to multiple subcontractors who may participate in the actual project for only a few weeks or months. In these situations, addressing identified problems or violations proves difficult, because by the time the authority has reached the action phase of the process, the work is already complete and the subcontractor with its workers has already left the country.

The Contractor’s Liability Act requires the main contractor to verify that its direct contractual partners operate legally. However, almost all main contractors want to check all companies in the contract chain, as only this way does transparency materialize better throughout the chain. Risks increase as more subcontractors join the chain. During inspection visits, the Regional State Administrative Agency can require companies to demonstrate they have collected documentation and can sanction deficiencies. However, authorities rarely verify whether contractors actually follow the collective agreements they report, and this of course falls short. Projects require continuous monitoring throughout: checking working time records, conducting site visits, and maintaining open dialogue with workers.

The government is also taking action against exploitation of international workers. The government plans to reform the law by adding extortion in working life and aggravated extortion in working life as offenses. Of course, it is not yet clear how the legislative change will affect international workers’ employment in practice. Much remains the responsibility of rapidly functioning supervision.

Concrete steps to fix the situation

Shifting responsibility solely to authorities is not the right way forward, however. While the system develops, we as companies can take responsibility and take our own actions to improve the situation. Many companies already handle their role admirably, but we can do even more to protect international workers and distinguish ourselves from dishonest actors.

We at Barona have also faced challenges. In 2024, it emerged that a Thai recruitment company had collected illegal recruitment fees from workers recruited for us. We took action immediately when the matter came to our attention. We immediately made the matter public, ended cooperation with the company in question, and compensated workers in full for the fees they had paid. From this experience, we learned that even if we ourselves act correctly, we must monitor the entire chain from the country of origin to actual daily work even more closely.

A need arose to critically examine our own processes and practices. We encourage all companies working with international workers to conduct the same examination. We already have tools and practices available to prevent exploitation. Here are five key areas that everyone should pay attention to.

Clear communication

Finland’s complex legislation and collective agreement jungle cause gray hairs for Finnish workers too. Therefore, it is especially important to communicate clearly and comprehensively about workers’ rights to those coming here to work from abroad. It is also important to discuss Finnish egalitarian work culture with its various practices with workers, so they dare to bring challenges to supervisors’ attention when they encounter them. To avoid misunderstandings, produce safety instructions in the language workers understand best. Make instructions independently accessible to workers at the workplace.

It is also important to tell arrivals that authorities can be trusted. In many other countries, such trust does not exist.

Active monitoring of subcontractors

Paperwork is not enough. The Contractor’s Liability Act requires the main contractor to verify that its subcontractors operate legally. When a subcontractor arrives at a site, the main contractor checks that the company has the necessary insurance and certifies that it pays wages in accordance with Finnish legislation. After this, hardly anyone monitors actual compliance. If problems later emerge, the main contractor can claim they completed the checks and bear no responsibility. This is not enough, however. Continuous monitoring throughout the project is needed: checking working time records, site visits, and open dialogue with workers.

Realistic pricing

When reviewing tenders during competitive bidding, price deserves attention beyond just savings. If one bidder can do the same work significantly cheaper than competitors, the reason is rarely superior efficiency. More often, the bidder has cut costs somehwere. Unfortunately, savings often come at workers’ expense. An exceptionally low price is a sign requiring closer examination before decision-making.

Partner selection and monitoring

The international labor market contains various actors and middlemen. Partner selection deserves attention both before signing contracts and during cooperation. Even when both parties have signed contracts in good faith and agree on matters, staying vigilant during cooperation pays off. During recruitment, talking with workers without the foreign partner present is worthwhile. If the partner is always present and collects residence permit cards for safekeeping, for example, investigating more closely whether this represents care or something else makes sense.

Safe channels for seeking help

The Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking maintains the ihmiskauppa.fi website, through which workers can contact professionals. The service operates only in Finnish, Swedish, and English, however. The word “human trafficking” may also feel too strong. A worker receiving slightly too little hourly pay may not identify with it.

In addition to channels offered by authorities, employers and companies must enable safe and anonymous channels for raising concerns. In many countries of origin, trust in authorities does not match Finnish levels. Therefore, companies should provide various whistleblower channels where employees can raise concerns.

Change starts with companies

New legislation and stricter supervision alone will not solve problems related to exploitation of international labor. The ball is also in our court as companies that directly or indirectly employ international workers. Now is the right time for us honest actors to step forward more strongly and refine our processes to the point where we can build Finland’s reputation as a responsible employer country.

The world knows us as the happiest country and one of the least corrupt. Now is the right moment to extend this happiness and integrity to cover everyone working in Finland. Let’s take the first step together.