Background information

Rural industries and in particular wild-berry picking is a sector in Finland where outsourcing and sub-contracting is used to avoid employer obligations that come with an employment contract.

In Finland, the picking of wild berries is strongly dependent on foreign labour and berry pickers are recruited from Thailand in particular. There have been reports of exceptionally low reimbursement, poor working conditions in the sector, and even charges of human trafficking, which has prompted regulatory change.

The newest collective bargaining agreement for rural industries (Maaseutuelinkeinojen työehtosopimus) for 2025-2028 has multiple new provisions clarifying the employment relationship. The collective bargaining agreement is signed between Industrial Union (Teollisuusliitto) and Federation of Agricultural Employers (Maaseudun työnatajaliitto MTA).

Content of measure

New provisions in the rural industries collective bargaining agreement include that if an employee who is hired for wild berry picking or gathering of other natural products simultaneously gathers such products and sells them to the same employer, such a relationship should not be viewed as self-employment. The picking and collection of these products outside regular working hours is still considered as an activity comprised by the employment relationship and as such also part of the employee's working time.

Another new provision states that the employer may not charge the employee for recruitment, training, or interest, on any travel expenses. It is the employer's responsibility to inform the employee that no party may charge the employee the above-mentioned fees.

Use of measure

According to the peak-level trade union SAK, there are 7,700 persons comprised by the rural industries collective agreement

Contents

• Basic working time
• Bonuses
• Employment retention
• Health and safety
• Pay increases
• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Particular professions	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Social partners jointly	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

Signed between sectoral social partners.

Views and reactions

Both signatory parties to the collective agreement have in their responses to the proposed amendment to the Act on the Conditions of Entry and Residence of Third-Country Nationals for Seasonal Worker 907/2017 (Laki kolmansien maiden kansalaisten maahantulon ja oleskelun edellytyksistä kausityöntekijöinä työskentelyä varten) underlined that, even though positive, the amendment itself is no panacea to the issues in the wild-berry picking sector. The amendment, which entered into force in February 2025 (Case FI-2025-5/3756) have clarified the employment relationship of wild berry pickers from countries outside the EU. The new provisions to the rural industries collective bargaining agreement has allowed for further clarifications to the employment/self-employment relationship. MTA however raises issues such as monitoring of working time as problems in the employment relationship of wild berry pickers

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 21 October 2024: Government proposal to amend the seasonal work act [Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle laiksi kolmansien maiden kansalaisten maahantulon ja oleskelun edellytyksistä kausityöntekijöinä työskentelyä varten annetun lain muuttamisesta] (www.eduskunta.fi)
• 03 March 2025: Reform of the rural industries collective agreement [Maaseutuelinkeinojen työehtosopimuksen uudistaminen] (www.teollisuusliitto.fi)