Around 900 Thai berry pickers got a residence permit to pick wild berries in Finland this summer, according to the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). Migri announced, that they had received 1300 applications and around 400 were declined.
Furthermore, the immigration service said, that there are still challenges in the sector, which were revealed while processing the applications. If there were indications of human trafficking or other kinds of labour exploitation in the applications, then they were denied, according to Migri.
Examples of indications were if the applicant’s net income was unreasonably low or if the charges for accomodation and meals by the employer are very high, as the employees can be at risk of getting into debt for working.
Another factor is whether the applicants can contact authorities independently. Furthermore, Migri will match if the answers by the employer and the employee about income and terms of employment have differed.
Tuuli Huhtilainen, who is responsible for the processing of residence permits for employed persons commented on the vulnerability of the berry pickers.
“Wild-berry pickers are often in a vulnerable position, because they may not share a common language with their employer or know their rights in Finland, for example,” said Huhtilainen.
The Thai berry pickers still need permission from the Thai authorities to leave Thailand. The Finnish authorities cannot influence the processing of permits by the Thai authorities.
Source: dailyfinland.fi
