Some companies illegally order foreign workers to attend weeks of training without pay – or even charge them for such orientation sessions, say industry insiders.

The winter tourism season in Lapland is just beginning, but labour groups in the industry have already received dozens of reports of seasonal workers being misled in ways that violate collective agreements.

There are a growing number of firms operating in northern Finland’s tourism sector that disregard labour laws and general ethical standard in the industry, according to the Service Union United PAM and the Finnish Hospitality Association (MaRa).

For example, PAM says many employees have been illegally required by employers to take part in unpaid training sessions lasting up to several weeks – and in some cases even charged for them, according to Henna-Kaisa Turpeinen, the union’s regional manager for northern Finland.

“We know of about 100 employees who have participated in unpaid orientations this autumn. Most of them are of foreign origin,” Turpeinen says. She added that many have travelled here at their own expense from Europe or Asia and are unfamiliar with Finnish labour laws.

One Asian employee, for instance, had an employment contract starting in mid-October. However, she was told she had to arrive in Rovaniemi, the regional capital, two weeks earlier to participate in mandatory job training.

No salary was paid for these orientation days – on the contrary, she and other seasonal workers for the same...

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