Working Against Exploitation – “A Union Member Never Has to Fight Alone”
The rampant exploitation of foreign workers in Finland has reached national headlines. The Industrial Union can prevent exploitation when employees are union members and share their experiences.
The exploitation of foreign workers at Finnish workplaces has made headlines. On 27 September, STT reported exploitation, such as excessively long workdays and unpaid wage supplements, committed by subcontracting companies at the Turku shipyard.
A book by reporter Paavo Teittinen, Pitkä vuoro – kuinka moderni orjuus juurtui Suomeen (”The Long Shift – How Modern Slavery Took Root in Finland”), was published on 29 September. In it, Teittinen writes about a widespread culture of exploitation and gives numerous examples.
Riikka Vasama, the head of the Industrial Union’s Foreign Labour Unit, says that the union’s message is clear: exploitation of any kind is unacceptable, and work is constantly being done to combat the phenomenon.
– We struggle with issues like these every day. Even though our workdays are already filled with cases, we feel that we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg, Vasama says.
