Ulkomaisten työntekijöiden hyväksikäyttö: ihmiskauppaa, kiskonnantapaista työsyrjintää vai alipalkkausta?
Avainsanat:
rikosoikeus, ihmiskauppa, pakkotyö, kiskonnantapainen työsyrjintäAbstrakti
Exploitation of foreign workers: Human trafficking, extortionate work discrimination or criminal underpay?
The article deals with the exploitation of foreign workers in Finland. The main aims are, first, to find out in what kinds of situation the exploitation of foreign workers has been held to constitute to be trafficking in human beings, and second, to estimate if the proposed legal reforms, such as a new criminal provision dealing with underpay or administrative sanctions imposed on an employer who exploits labour, would be effective means of combating worker abuse. A study of Court of Appeal judgements on this issue shows that the applicable provisions are open to interpretation and the boundaries between them are unclear. However, the existing provisions allow for far-reaching intervention in labour exploitation if they are known and applied effectively enough. The author claims that the proposed provision on criminal underpay would not be a particularly useful addition to the means of preventing exploitation of foreign workers, as the most serious forms of exploitation are already covered by existing legislation. Administrative sanctions would also be problematic because of the ne bis in idem rule and also because administrative sanctions are not a justified way of addressing violations of the fundamental rights and human rights of individuals. Instead of adopting new regulations, it would therefore be essential to ensure the effective application of existing provisions.
