Human trafficking, forced labour and carceralities in the wild berry industry

Abstract

This paper examines the exploitation of seasonal migrant labour in European agribusiness from the perspective of labour geography, combined with elements of carceral geographies of non-prison places. It presents a novel case study that focuses on three recent or ongoing aggravated human trafficking and forced labour court cases concerning wild berry companies; these companies misinformed seasonal migrant workers from Thailand, offering unfree, even carceral, living and working conditions and exploitative wages in Finland. Academic research on labour exploitation in European agribusiness has concentrated on Southern Europe, and studies on the wild berry industry in Finland are lacking, although it is one of the leading suppliers of wild berries in the global markets together with its neighbouring country, Sweden. The materials include court documents and decisions, Pre-Trial Investigation Records and reports from institutions such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in Finland. Special attention is paid to the unfree and carceral working conditions that the wild berry companies provided for the Thai wild berry pickers, highlighting the importance of investigating this industry. As determined by the Supreme Court in 2022, the workers won the first court case against a wild berry company. This indicates that the workers also have the possibility to win the other cases, which are relatively similar but more extensive. These court cases represent a significant turning point that shapes the laws and regulations in Finland and informs other European countries about the successes and failures of tackling human trafficking in agribusiness within one EU country.