Illegal labour coming from more and more distant countries

Following an acute shortage of labour on Estonia's construction sites, undocumented labour may start flowing into Finland from more far-away countries, notes Markku Ranta-aho of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
      "A large number of migrant workers have come via Estonia, namely persons of Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian origin. It can be assumed that illegal labour will start to come even from the new EU member states Romania and Bulgaria", Ranta-aho assumes.
     
The grey economy typically involves illegal immigration, drugs, hormones, and hookers. Ranta-aho is in charge of the NBI's economic crime investigations, and his unit monitoring the use of illegal foreign labour was made permanent at the beginning of the year.
      Because of the long distances involved, Finland is hardly the first destination for Romanian and Bulgarian job-seekers. However, Estonia is serving as a transit country for East European undocumented workers.
      While language problems are hampering investigations, the same problems are faced by Finnish employers, who often find it hard to determine just how competent or professionally skilled prospective employees might be. Moreover, the situation could get even worse, if the worker does not understand the blueprints and local construction standards.
     
Ranta-aho has also had consultations with the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK, as well as with other cooperative bodies including labour unions, labour protection districts, Employment and Economic Development Centres, construction companies, and the National Product Control Agency (STTV).
      "The main purpose is to see that all employees have the same rules and that the rights of foreign workers are not violated", says Ranta-aho.
      While no one knows the accurate numbers of the illegal workforce in Finland, it has been estimated that a total of some 20,000 man-years of illicit work has been done every year by persons engaged by the construction sector alone. In addition, grey labour exists particularly in the transport, hotel, and catering businesses, as well as in the shipbuilding and cleaning sectors.
     
Typically, economic crimes occur in companies that look perfectly normal. Ranta-aho also mentions the extensive tax evasion that was revealed within the construction industry in the Greater Helsinki area last autumn. It has been estimated that false receipts worth around EUR 30 million were used by more than 200 enterprises.
      While huge sums of money are lost every year in unpaid taxes, also honest businesses suffer losses, as they are unable to compete against fraudulent companies' low prices.
     
Globalisation has its effect on economic crime, too. Unreported income is being stashed away in tax havens. However, Ranta-aho is not pessimistic.
      "It is possible to get professional help from the local authorities in the Carribbean and in the traditional tax paradises, even though it might take time. After all, what is a crime in Finland might not be illegal elsewhere", Ranta-aho notes.
      Ranta-aho comments further that the sentences following economic crimes are not always severe enough, particularly bearing in mind that frequently the unreported money is never recovered.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Inspectors find that Finnish employers often violate basic rights of foreign employees (21.8.2006)
  Intensive inspections reveal widespread fraud in Finnish restaurants (20.3.2006)

Links:
  National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)
  The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK
  The National Product Control Agency´s (STTV)