Finnish CEO detained for alleged mistreatment of 1,100 Thai berry pickers
Finnish police have arrested and detained the CEO of berry company “Polarica” under suspicion of human trafficking. CEO Jukka Kristo allegedly “deceived” 1100 Thai berry pickers and housed them in “poor conditions.”
This year, Kristo’s company flew around 1100 Thais to Finland to work as berry pickers – an industry that heavily relies on a foreign workforce. The CEO has arranged seasonal work for Thais for several years.
In total, 17 of Kristo’s Thai berry pickers filed complaints of forced labour and low wages with the Thai agency that employed them. All 17 returned to Thailand with the assistance of the Royal Thai Embassy in Helsinki.
Thailand’s Ministry of Labour announced yesterday that were prepared to help the alleged human trafficking victims.
Following the complaints, Finnish police suspected that Kristo’s Thai berry pickers were “in a situation of dependency on their employer” and forced to live in poor conditions.
Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation confirmed the criminal investigation on Monday when they detained Kristo in the coastal city of Oulu.
Polarica – who sells bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, sea buckthorns, redcurrants, and blackcurrants – released a press release denying the allegations.
Despite the allegations, the company’s business operations will continue as normal, the press release revealed.
The company says they strictly follow Finland’s law of foreign berry picking and says their recruitment of Thai workers is “responsible.”
The Finnish court takes human trafficking in the berry-picking industry seriously. In January last year, Finland’s Supreme Court sentenced a berry farmer from Hankalsami to one year and 10 months in prison for human trafficking.
According to Thailand’s Department of Employment, nearly 4000 Thais will work in Finland this year.
Last year, 70 of the 3,200 Thais working in Finland filed complaints about employment issues.
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