The Labour Ministry of Thailand hopes to have measures in place in time for the harvest season of 2025, regarding the suspension of visa applications for Thai-nationals seeking wild-berry picking jobs in Finland.
According to Somchai Morakotsriwan, director-general of the Department of Employment, the ministry is working closely with state agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He says a recruitment programme for berry-picking jobs in Sweden and Finland is sat on hold until regulations are improved and the working conditions of the labourers are bettered.
The long term goal is for both countries to have talks on labour import and export. For now, one of the resolutions is, that employers will have to pay all expenses for Thai workers, if they want to hire them as berry pickers.
Finland announced on 16 March 2024, that the country would no longer accept visas for Thai wild-berry pickers for 2024 berry season. The decision was a result of concerns of human rights abuse, exploitation and trafficking linked to the berry picking industry. As a consequence Schengen visas will also not be available to wild-berry pickers from Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar for the summer 2024 harvest season. Visa applications other than berry picking visas will be processed like usual.
Source: Bangkok Post & The Nation
