Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors- JHL, Mari Keturi, proposed concrete actions for strengthening the position of employees, said JHL in a press release on Monday.
“Let’s criminalise underpayment. Currently, in practice the only thing that results from underpayment is the obligation to pay the money that should have been paid in the first place. This is not enough,” said Keturi.
The JHL CEO also said that Finland should follow the lead of Norway and add wage theft and aggravated wage theft into the Criminal Code so that trampling on employees’ rights results into a real penalty. It’s about time that Finland introduces similar regulation, where underpayment is equated with other crimes against property.
“Let’s give trade unions right of action. All employees aren’t able to take their matter to court by themselves. Trade unions’ right of action would strengthen employees’ legal protection and ensure that they do not have to encounter abuse alone,” said Keturi.
Keturi is worried about how contracting chains offer a hiding place for shirking responsibility.
“Contractor’s obligation has to go all the way though the contracting chain so that the employees’ rights cannot get lost somewhere in the chain. This means that everyone in the chain – whether a subcontractor, provider of temporary workforce, or any other actor that uses labour – is obligated to ensure that employees are guaranteed lawful terms and conditions of employment, appropriate treatment and a fair pay,” she added.
“Without a clear and comprehensive structure of responsibilities, there is a risk that employees’ rights are not supervised, and that is an opportunity for labour exploitation and growth of shadow economy,” said Keturi, adding that the current government of Finland is on the wrong track in this matter.
The JHL leader said that instead of tackling underpayment and exploitation, the government is on an ideological crusade against trade unions and erodes the rules of working life.
“This is a dangerous direction: it weakens employees’ protection and increases the risk of exploitation – and at the same time makes it hard for honest Finnish employers to succeed in competition. The actions that the Government has chosen do not eliminate the problems – they aggravate them,” she said.
- JHL
- Employees
- Right
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
