“Many tourism firms in Finnish Lapland violate labour laws, say union and hospitality association”

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).

…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…

According to Lappi, there are hundreds of companies offering tourism services in the region but most of them do not belong to the employers' organisation and don’t comply with collective agreements or labour legislation.

"It’s clear why such companies that deliberately break the law don’t want to belong to employers' groups. They have no intention of following collective agreements, the law or our ethical code," he asserts…