Illegal Hiring Practices on Rise in Finland - Report
Exploitation of foreign workers and related concealment is ramping up in Finland, according to a news report.
Estonian workers are affected as well, with the worst example being a wage of less than 2 euros an hour paid to carpenters working near Turku. That Estonian crew received a 380 euro gross wage; 1,000 euros per month including per diems. But Finnish carpenters make at least 17 euros an hour, according to the business website Taloussanomat.
The job was done for the city of Länsi-Turunmaa and the subcontractor was the Estonian company Eurobuild Group. The men worked for 10 days in a row followed by four days off, with 10-hour days, said the Fininsh construction workers union's Turku region director Jouni Ruotsalainen.
The union was informed by another Estonian worker who used a double contract. He was paid 200 euros net wages. The employment contract for Estonian tax purposes stated 1.75 euros per hour, but the Finnish one said 9.05 euros.
Estonan construction companies say Estonian builders are paid 9 to 13 euros an hour depending on the type of work, which is about 3 to 7 euros less than Finns receive on average. But actual wages may be less, and under some arrangements wages already include per diems and even temporary housing.
Ruotsalainen said he was "extremely disappointed" with what he called lax oversight from the Finnish authorities and with the Finnish construction companies who no longer get contract offers amid a heavy influx of cheaper labor from Russia and Poland.
Kristopher Rikken