Helsinki (20.02.2014 - Heikki Jokinen) The vast majority of Finns think wage dumping should be criminalised. Astonishingly perhaps, 82 per cent of Finnish adults are of the opinion, one way or the other, that wage dumping should be criminalised, and that employers who knowingly pay wages which are below the collective agreement minimum, should be convicted of a crime and punished.
The differences between the various groups of those who replied were surprisingly small. Coincidentally, by the same figure of 82 per cent, people in managerial positions answered yes, and 65 per cent of entrepreneurs also answered in the affirmative. Unsurprisingly, 91 per cent of employees answered positively.
The figures are from a fresh survey conducted by TNS Gallup and commissioned by the Service Union United PAM. The interviews were made in October 2013 from among 1,061 adults.
"Even the employers want those companies that are neglecting to follow the rules to fall in line with what has been commonly agreed ", says vice president of PAM, Kaarlo Julkunen. "It is clear, that those companies looking for a competitive advantage by wage dumping are distorting the markets and making it more difficult for honest companies to operate and succeed."
In real terms wage dumping is mainly affecting young people and immigrants. PAM is inundated with questions concerning wage dumping every day. Right now the union is dealing with almost one hundred cases of wage dumping.
PAM is demanding action by the labour market organisations and parliament. Many other unions agree, as the problem of wage dumping is not confined to the service sector.
Administration is left toothless
One of the major sectors facing such problems is construction. And one of the sad cases is the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant construction site. It has some 2,500 workers, the majority of whom come from abroad. Since 2005 some 2,500 subcontracting companies have been involved in the construction of this nuclear plant.
Regional ombudsman Petri Varjonen from the Trade Union Pro says that there are several problems at play in Olkiluoto. "Collective agreements are either unknown or ignored. Wage dumping and exceeding the number of working hours are fairly typical." Bathroom facilities are also often poor not to mention problems with housing.
The Tax Office uncovers cases of wage dumping from time to time. But as it is not a crime, they are not obliged to alert the occupational safety and health administration.
Who, for their part, are often powerless when it comes to dealing with certain subcontracting companies that fail to keep proper records of working hours, as the law requires. And without the necessary or requisite information, it is difficult to determine wage levels.
By the time the next round of inspections are due to take place many of these problem companies will have already vanished. There is now talk about imposing fines on firms if records on working hours are not made available. Poland and Spain have already enacted such measures.
The Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions SAK is also calling for the criminalisation of wage dumping. "Minimum wages laid down in the collective agreements are binding. However, if these are not followed, there is no punishment for the employer", says director Niklas Elomaa from SAK. "They only have to pay the missing part of the wage to the employee."
Read more about Olkiluoto construction site:
Weak control of foreign labour and companies cause major tax losses (26.04.2012)