Background information

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 government of Finland has passed amendments 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) and the Seasonal Workers Decree which specifies the sectors to which the Act applies. The amendments have added wild berry picking to sectors covered by the legal framework for seasonal work. The amendments entered into force on 1 February 2025.

Improving the status of berry pickers is part of the Government’s Action plan for preventing work-related exploitation.

Content of measure

After the amendments were passed, companies employing wild berry pickers will be required to sign a formal employment contract in order to ensure entry into Finland with a work residence permit. The coverage of an employment contract ensures that wild berry pickers are covered by the legal framework for employment relations in Finland, also granting wild berry pickers a minimum wage.

Previously, wild berry pickers have often arrived on a Schengen tourist visa, which allowed them to stay and pick berries in Finland for a maximum of three months and then sell the berries to the companies on a self-employed status. The visa process was sometimes assisted by an invitation by the berry processing company in Finland.

Already on 15 March 2024, the ministry of foreign affairs informed that no Schengen-visa applications for wild berry picking in Finland would be accepted at the Bangkok embassy, which covers Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. The reason was the human rights violations that had been unveiled in the berry picking season of 2023.

The new amendments do not apply to persons engaging in wild berry picking that already reside in Finland.

The Government will monitor the effects of the changes and, if necessary, introduce further measures to combat exploitation in the berry sector.

Use of measure

The full impact of the measure will be evident as the berry picking season of 2025 approaches. However, as Schengen tourist visa applications were no longer granted for the 2024 berry picking season, the scale of work-related residence permit application in the season 2024. By July 2024, 1,300 wild berry picking related work residence permit applications had been received for the season, out of which 900 were granted and 400 rejected. All applicants were from Thailand.

According to the statistics of the assistance scheme for victims of human trafficking in Finland, 326 new victims were admitted to the assistance scheme in 2023. Forced labour was the most common form of trafficking. Of the victims of forced labour, 32% were pickers of natural products and 24% worked on berry farms.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Seasonal workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	No special funding required

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

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

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The tripartite advisory board on working conditions and licensing for foreign workers and entrepreneurs (Ulkomaalaisten työntekijöiden ja yrittäjien työehto- ja lupavalvonta-asioiden neuvottelukunta) was consulted in the preparation of the legal amendments.

Social partners were also invited to leave direct statements on a consultation round.

Views and reactions

The employer organisation for fruit and berry producers HMLRY (Hedelmän- ja marjanviljelijän liitto) has in their statement to the proposed amendment stated that many seasonal workers employed in horticulture gain side earnings as self-employed in wild berry picking and selling to the farms in which they are employed in horticulture. This economic activity now requires that it is applied for in the visa application stage. Further, if wild berry picking is conducted in an employment contract it is subject to the sectoral CBA, which requires monitoring of working time. This HMLRY argues that wild berry pickers ought to be exempt from.

SAK has in their statement to the proposed amendment voiced support that wild berry picking is now covered by the Seasonal Work Act, solidifying the employment status of the workers.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 16 July 2024: Migri: Wild berry pickers apply for residence permits for the first time - all applications processed [Migri: Luonnonmarjanpoimijat hakevat ensimmäistä kertaa oleskelulupaa – kaikki hakemukset käsitelty] (migri.fi)
• 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)