More foreign berry-pickers this summer in Finland’s North
Some 2,500 foreign berry-pickers are to come and work in Finland this summer. This is an increase of nearly 10 percent from last year. The workers start arriving in mid-July.
The majority of berry-pickers are once again from Thailand, while nearly 400 come from Ukraine and Belarus.
Most workers travel directly to northern Finland and north-eastern Kainuu. Korvatunturin Marja Ltd. is the only big berry-buying company that intends to start its workers picking berries in the Pirkanmaa region, and then move them northwards following the ripening forest harvests.
Berry phone-line to open soon
A berry phone hotline and email service to report problems related to berry-picking are to open on July 15, around the time when foreign workers start arriving in Finland.
Last year the service received 55 messages, mostly complaints. Some 21 of these were about picking berries too close to villages, 15 were general criticisms of berry-picking practices, while 11 miscellaneous comments concerned littering, open fires and traffic behaviour.
Berry principles
In Lapland, in Finland’s Far North, companies buying berries agreed Monday upon general principles governing berry-picking. The principles have been designed to prevent conflicts between local inhabitants and berry-pickers, who may be unaware of Finnish laws and customs.
