Police have closed a preliminary investigation into the employment conditions of foreign berry pickers at a farm in northern Finland.
The probe was launched last year after the workers complained that the zero-hours contracts they were offered did not reflect the promises made to them by a Finnish staffing agency, which also deducted a portion of their pay.
Chief Inspector Nina Similä said the police and the Regional State Administrative Agency (Avi) of Northern Finland visited the farm in July 2020 and found 18 Hungarian employees present at the time of the inspection.
Some of the pickers had already tried to leave, she added, and the police and the local authorities decided to proceed with the preliminary investigation as a suspected case of workplace discrimination.
The pickers had argued that the staffing agency was in breach of contract, as there wasn't enough work to go around for everyone in the group.
However, police found no grounds to substantiate this claim and they have closed the case.