Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs has confirmed that out of roughly 2,200 seasonal-work visa applications lodged by Thai wild-berry pickers this year, just 123 were approved. The Finnish embassy in Bangkok rejected the rest after an unusually strict, case-by-case assessment that weighed the risk of labour exploitation and human-trafficking. Officials cited two recent human-trafficking convictions tied to the berry sector as a key reason for tightening scrutiny. Under Finland’s 2025 reform of the Seasonal Workers Act, foreign wild-berry pickers must now obtain a seasonal-work visa or residence permit linked to a written employment contract. Companies are obliged to guarantee minimum earnings and decent accommodation. The rule change was meant to curb abuses such as debts, 18-hour picking days and unpaid wages that investigative journalists documented in 2023-24. Berry processors warn the sudden shortfall will leave millions of kilos of blueberries and lingonberries unharvested, pushing up wholesale prices and forcing retailers to import frozen berries from abroad. Several family-owned berry firms say they may have to suspend operations if domestic labour cannot be found quickly. Finance Minister Riikka Purra defended the clamp-down, arguing that unemployed Finns—especially young people—should take seasonal jobs before employers look overseas. Labour researchers counter that picking requires long, irregular hours deep in the forest, conditions many locals are unwilling to accept, and that Thai pickers operate on a piece-rate model that rewards experience and mobility. Practical implications for global-mobility managers include earlier workforce-planning cycles, higher compliance costs (written contracts, wage guarantees and accommodation audits) and reputational risk if due-diligence lapses. Multinationals that rely on imported berries for food production may also need to diversify suppliers or renegotiate prices ahead of the autumn peak.
Source: Yle Selkouutiset
