Around 6,000 people have applied to pick berries in Sweden this year. Last year was chaotic, 250 Thais wrote to the government and told us that they lived in miserable conditions, that they fed on run over animals and returned to Thailand in debt.
This year is also expected to be a poor fruiting year, which could make conditions even worse. Equality and Deputy Labor Market Minister Paulina Brandberg (L) says that the government is working with strong measures to create better conditions in the berry industry.
– What is going on in our Swedish forests with these Thai berry pickers cannot be described in any other way than a modern form of slavery. And of course that should not occur in Sweden. It is completely unacceptable.
Want to change the law
According to the minister, it is not an option to let the industry continue on the same track. The government is currently working on measures regarding workplace crime, cooperation between authorities but also with changes in migration legislation.
At the same time, it takes time to implement these changes and already next week the berry pickers will start arriving in the Swedish berry forests. Last year, the Swedish Migration Agency only did a handful of random checks of the approximately 6,500 Thai berry pickers in Sweden.
– There should be no zones where human trafficking or slavery can go unpunished in Sweden. We must ensure that the authorities receive the tools and resources required to enable them to act forcefully. Regardless of where in the country the problem arises, says Paulina Brandberg.