PAM on revelations in Teittinen’s new book: “This is a wider phenomenon – companies must do better”

— I feel sad for these people and angry that Finland has not acted early enough or strongly enough to tackle labour exploitation. We also need to ask whether companies lack the will to take responsibility and do the right thing, says Rönni-Sällinen.

Rönni-Sällinen says these are not isolated cases. Teittinen’s book also shows that this is a broader phenomenon.

— For years, we have been calling for increased corporate responsibility and active monitoring to ensure that terms of employment are followed throughout the subcontracting chain. Buyers of services should act immediately.

The government has a duty to act

— It is incomprehensible that the government has spent two years weakening the position of workers and migrants, instead of tackling labour exploitation and fighting the grey economy.

Rönni-Sällinen urges the government to use the rest of its term more wisely.

— We have for years proposed various measures and legal changes that would more effectively prevent the exploitation of foreign workers. These include criminalising wage theft, giving trade unions the right to bring class action lawsuits, and increasing the resources of supervisory authorities. Responsibility for subcontractors’ violations must also be significantly expanded.

— The risk of getting caught is far too low and the consequences are often negligible. For example, if an employer pays less than the collective agreement wage, the only consequence is having to pay the missing wages – and even then, only to the worker who dares to demand it.

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