JHL: Wage theft should be made a punishable offence in Finland

Trade Union JHL fears that an employee’s position will get even weaker. One way to protect employees would be a law that criminalises wage theft.

The President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Håkan Ekström, proposes that underpayment, or in other words wage theft, should be made a punishable offence. For example in Norway an employer who commits wage theft can even face prison. In Norway the law against wage theft was enacted by a right-wing government.

– This is an important part of the Nordic model that the trade union movement supports.

Ekström is disappointed with the Finnish Government’s bull-headed refusal to genuinely negotiate with the employee organisations.

– The Government’s weakenings to working life and cutbacks hit especially low-paid workers, part-time employees, female-dominated sectors and immigrants. The blow will be particularly hard for single parents.

– We defend strong income security, criminalisation of underpayment or in other words wage theft, the right for organisations to take legal action, employee representation in companies, and priority of interpretation in labour disputes.

In Norway, two offences were added to the Penal Code on 1 January 2022: wage theft and aggravated wage theft.

The penalty for wage theft can be a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years. The penalty for aggravated wage theft can be a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of six years.

The law was changed by Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s right-wing government, at the initiative of the trade union movement.

More information:
JHL President Håkan Ekström 040 828 2865

JHL originally published this statement in Finnish in February 2024.