The District Court in Western Uusimaa in Finland has sentenced four individuals to prison for exploitation of Chinese workers. One individual received a two-year unconditional prison sentence for nine counts of aggravated coercion and the use of foreign labor without authorization. The three others received suspended sentences for complying in one or more counts of aggravated coercion. One of the three was also found guilty of employing unauthorized foreign work.
The aggrieved workers were nine Chinese workers in massage parlors in Helsinki, Espoo and Lappeenranta. The court emphasized that the workers had been unfamiliar with Finnish labor laws, were exploited due to not speaking Finnish and lacking social support in the country. The exploitation included long hours, unpaid work and working without proper compensation. Additionally, the Chinese workers were only paid for costumer service time, even though they had to stay on the premises throughout the business hours. The court ruled, that this was a part of the work obligation.
The unpaid wages ranged from 12,000 to 150,000 euros per victim and it lasted several years. Furthermore the employer has created misleading documents to cover up the actual working hours. Initially the prosecutor had tried to sentence them for human trafficking, but the charges were dismissed by court, as well as the charges of aggravated coercion for one of the individuals.
Source: helsinkitimes.fi
