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Thai workers in Finland sue boss
Published: 13 Sep 2013 at 08.32
A group of about 50 Thai berry pickers working in Saarijarvi, eastern Finland, have filed a criminal complaint against their employer, Finnish news agency Yle reports.
They claim to be victims of human trafficking, according to Ville Hoikkala, a human rights lawyer representing the berry pickers.
The pickers claim they were lent money by a Finnish recruitment company in Thailand at very high interest rates in order to buy their passage to Finland. They came to pick berries and to pay off their debt by selling those berries, the news report quoted the lawyer as saying.
However, the workers feel they were misinformed back in Thailand about how much money they would be able to make in Finland, Mr Hoikkala said. The workers now fear they will not be in a position to pay off their debts to the company, he said.
The lawyer explained that the workers understood that they had work contracts, but in fact they have no employment agreements.
Pravit Kiangphol, director-general of the Department of Employment, on Thursday said he had not yet received any reports about the case.
However, he said his department had repeatedly warned Thai workers not to believe job placement companies which lured workers into believing they will earn good money.
