Immigrants Handed the Dirty Work Language Foreigners Are Reluctant to Find Fault in Work Condi- Barriers Tions Because Residence Permits Require an Employ
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ISSUE 19 (149) • 14 – 19 MAY 2010 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI FESTIVAL GUIDE DOMESTIC BUSINESS LIFESTYLE EAT & DRINK Special issue: New laws New career Improving Ethnic shops Summer to ban through your life yet unknown festival guide begging networking by coaching to Finns page 12 page 3 page 8 page 14 pages 16 Mental care seeks to cross Immigrants handed the dirty work language Foreigners are reluctant to find fault in work condi- barriers tions because residence permits require an employ- PETRA NYMAN ment contract. HELSINKI TIMES KRISTA SIHVONEN FINNS are often labelled as a nation HEIDI EKDAHL – STT same wages for their work as a na- particularly sensitive to mental ALEKSIS TORO – HT tive Finn would.” health problems such as depression. Occupational protection should Defects of the mind are not, howev- AN ETHNIC divide between native be more active and work conditions er, something exclusive to us north- and immigrant fi elds of employ- should be better monitored, the re- ern dwellers, but anyone regardless ment is threatening to form in Fin- port states. When an immigrant per- of their nationality can require the land, according to a study by the son’s residence permit depends on an professional care of a psychiatrist. Finnish Work Environment Fund. employment contract, the employ- Moving to another culture can “In the interest of competitiveness er in practice grants the residence be especially challenging and immi- the labour market has been made permit. This leads to a reluctance to grants may not always be supplied more fl exible. Contractual terms question the practices of the work- with adequate care when it comes to and conditions have weakened. Im- place, Wrede notes. “The occupation- matters of the mind. Language plays migrants are in a particularly vul- al protection districts are important a vital part in psychiatry, as it is es- nerable position,” says the director agents. The occupational protection sential for a patient and the doctor to of the research project Sirpa Wrede delegates should clarify to employ- understand each other correctly. If of the University of Helsinki. ees in detail the legal conditions that The recent study highlights that it is central for all workers to have the same faced with diffi culty in fi nding care Short-term contracts, poor ori- apply to the terms and the execution conditions of employment and chances to advance their career. in one’s own language a person may entation practices and employ- of work,” she says. delay seeking help unnecessarily. ees’ unawareness of their rights The report does not take a stance Helsinki Times talked to Dr Han- are common in many workplac- on whether immigrants should be Immigrants get a raw deal on the job nu Mononen of Terveystalo about es. Immigrants are most intensely welcomed in Finland to make up A young Turkish kebab restaurant owner: the importance of providing psychi- confronted with this uncertainty, for the labour shortage. The group “There is no other work. You can’t just be idle all the time. You have to do atric services in English here in Hel- according to an expert working for of researchers moves ahead of the something.” sinki. “A psychiatrist cannot treat a the City of Helsinki. “A person can current political debate. An East Asian restaurant owner: patient without sharing a common be ready to do anything to hold on to “Finnish working life has “We have no days off, if we have a “day off” we go to the store to buy gro- language; it’s as simple as that. The their job. In some cases the welfare changed,” Wrede says. “The situation ceries and clean up here. Only during the midsummer celebration did we treatment consists predominantly of the entire extended family de- of immigrants in today’s working life have three days off. Also during Christmas we had two days off.” of discussions between the doctor pends on them,” says planner Olga has to be understood. Immigrants’ A cleaner from Estonia: and the patient, and even the slight- Silfver of the Immigration Division. need to improve working life is often “I’ve been taken advantage of a lot in terms of working conditions, wages. est misunderstanding can cause a In the greater Helsinki area clean- the same as that of any other person Often long workdays are demanded. Last year I didn’t get a vacation.” decline in recovery.” Mononen, who ers and kitchen staff are more and entering the labour market.” A Turkish entrepreneur: has extensive experience in psychi- more often people from immigrant “The public discussion benefi ts “Yes, I’ve made some friends. Of course they regard self-employed peo- atric work in English language de- backgrounds. Many of them are asy- Finns, for example young employees, ple more positively than unemployed foreigners. Entrepreneurship gives a cided to tackle the problem of lack of lum seekers. “This is not a problem as as well. The enhancement of com- kind of advantage.” high quality care in English and be- such,” says Silfver, herself of an im- munication and the improvement of gun to offer his services to the Eng- migrant background. “What’s cen- orientation practices are in the best Quotations from the report published by the Finnish Work Environment Fund and writ- lish speaking community in Finland. tral is whether the employee has the interest of everyone in Finnish work- ten by Wrede & Nordberg (Palmenia), entitled Vieraita työssä. Työelämän etnistyvä chance to advance in his or her ca- ing life.” eriarvoisuus (Aliens at work: The ethnifying inequality of working life). Read the full story on page 4. reer and whether they receive the See related article on page 5. Ilosaarirock. And for the 40th anni- have familiarised herself with the versary of Ruisrock the blizzard of Eva Biaudet fi eld relevant to the offi ce during her Let the festivals roll! Oz, Ozzy Osbourne is blowing into appointments as the OSCE’s Special the country along with The Specials appointed Representative for Combating the ROBIN DEWAN Here is Helsinki Times’ round-up to and Canned Heat. Traffi c of Human Beings, as Minis- HELSINKI TIMES help you navigate what’s on offer. Although there is already an in- Ombudsman ter of Health and Social Services and The 45th Pori Jazz will take credible amount of talent lined-up Minister of Gender Equality and as a ANOTHER festival-packed season place at the end of July with an ex- across the festival spectrum, one fes- long-term Member of Parliament. is just around the corner full of fun, ceptionally diverse and star-stud- tival stands out as especially innova- by special Five applicants were interviewed music and occasionally, unforgetta- ded programme. Included among tive. Happening 13-15 August right for the offi ce. Among Biaudet’s mer- ble adventures. Summer festivals the performers will be Jeff Beck, in the heart of Helsinki, Flow festi- exemption its were considered her broad and in Finland remain among the year’s Tori Amos, Gil Scott-Heron, Gotan val offers a genre-diverse and inno- STT diverse career and, in relation to highlights for many with anticipa- Project, and even such a stretch as vative programme. The line-up for ALEKSIS TORO – HT the other applicants, far more ex- tion building up months in advance. Massive Attack. Bonafi de jazz lover’s this year includes French electron- tensive experience in international need not worry that their festival ic duo AIR, complete with an audio- FORMER minister and MP for the affairs. She was also able to present has been taken over – there will be visual spectacle, Icelandic vocalist Swedish People’s Party Eva Biaudet “exceptionally clear” views on the plenty of great jazz to be heard over Jónsi from Sigur Rós, LCD Soundsys- was appointed Finland’s new Ombuds- fundamentals of the ombudsman’s the week-long event. tem, Nigerian afrobeat legend Tony man for Minorities on Thursday 6 May. activities and their advancement. The big three rock festivals are Allen, British indie sensation The The government assigned Biaudet to The Ombudsman for Minorities is RONI REKOMAARONI setting up as follows: Provinssi- xx, and many more alternative acts. the position for a fi ve year term. in charge of advancing the status and rock is bringing dance metal band With lots of cozy zones, sauna/dip- Biaudet’s appointment spurred legal protection of ethnic minorities Rammstein, vintage rockers Wolf- pool, chill-out spaces and funky dec- some public debate due to her being and foreigners and of promoting non- mother, soul diva Paloma Faith and orations, the Flow crew truly go the granted a special exemption from discrimination, equality and good eth- punk icon Jello Biafra and the Guan- distance to make the festival experi- the postgraduate university degree nic relations in Finland. The current tanamo School of Medicine, among ence a summer highlight. normally required of the holder of holder of the offi ce Johanna Suurpää its highlights. Faith No More, DJ the offi ce. Biaudet’s erstwhile law will assume the post of director of the Shadow and electronic rock outfi t Check out the Helsinki Times studies were left unfi nished. None- Democracy and Language Affairs Unit UNKLE will be hitting the stages at festival calendar on page 12-13. theless Biaudet was considered to of the Ministry of Justice. 2 14 – 19 MAY 2010 VIEWPOINT HELSINKI TIMES Jonathan Hadley is an Academy of Finland funded postdoctoral researcher at the Uni- versity of Helsinki (Sociology). He specialises in policing and racism in Europe and teaches contemporary European social theory to international postgraduate students. A former British police officer, he moved to Helsinki in 2002 to study, working as a re- searcher at the Police College of Finland until 2008 and contributes to an EU-wide con- sortium of police authorities on major event security research.