A Helsinki school renovation project has come under scrutiny after Finland’s Construction Union uncovered suspected labour exploitation involving foreign workers, unpaid wages and questionable employment arrangements at a state-funded construction site.
The project concerns Valteri Ruskis school in Ruskeasuo, Helsinki, which provides educational support for children and young people with special educational needs. The allegations raise questions about how labour conditions were monitored on a publicly funded project involving several construction companies.
According to the Construction Union, known in Finnish as Rakennusliitto, its investigation identified 30 workers who were classified as self-employed despite working under conditions that appeared similar to regular employment. Some foreign workers were allegedly paid below the minimum rates set by the applicable collective agreement, while checks on the right of certain workers to work in Finland had not been properly completed.
State property agency Senaatti Properties commissioned the renovation, with Mirlux Oy serving as the main contractor. The suspected violations concern subcontractors Varatek Oy and Kore Metal Oy, which were involved in work at the site.
The union’s findings also raised questions about how workers were registered and paid. Varatek reportedly registered 36 people to work on the project, although only three were direct employees of the company. The remaining workers operated through an invoicing service, an arrangement that the union said raised concerns about whether employment relationships had been incorrectly treated as self-employment.
The distinction matters because workers classified as self-employed may not receive the same employment protections and collectively agreed benefits as employees. Where a working arrangement functions like regular employment, its legal status cannot necessarily be determined by the label used in a contract or invoicing arrangement.
The union also reported unpaid overtime compensation and Sunday work allowances. Some workers allegedly received trainee-level pay despite working long hours, raising concerns about whether their wages reflected the work they performed and the applicable collective agreement.
Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported that three workers had completed 122 hours of work over 13 days within a two-week period. According to calculations by the Construction Union, each worker had lost nearly 1,500 euros in wages.
The investigation also identified concerns involving workers’ right to work in Finland. Up to 12 people had reportedly not undergone proper checks, according to the union’s findings. Most of the workers involved were from outside the European Union, particularly Ukraine. The union also reported that some Ukrainian nationals had been incorrectly registered as Finnish citizens.
On Tuesday, the Construction Union placed Varatek under a union boycott after the company allegedly failed to resolve the wage disputes. The action signals the union’s response to the reported violations, although the allegations should be distinguished from any final determination of legal responsibility by the authorities or a court.
The case has also drawn attention to the responsibility of contractors and public project commissioners to ensure that labour requirements are followed throughout a construction project’s subcontracting chain. When several companies and invoicing arrangements are involved, it can become more difficult to establish who employs individual workers, who is responsible for paying them and whether the correct employment terms have been applied.
Toni Malmstrom, a senior expert at the Construction Union, criticised the oversight failures. He warned that companies that disregard labour agreements can gain an unfair competitive advantage over businesses that meet their obligations.
The union has also linked such practices to wider concerns in Finland’s construction industry, where unemployment remains a challenge for workers. Employers that reduce labour costs by failing to comply with agreed wage conditions can put law-abiding businesses at a disadvantage and weaken established employment standards.
The allegations at Valteri Ruskis therefore extend beyond an individual wage dispute. They concern the treatment of foreign workers, the use of self-employment and invoicing arrangements, and the safeguards intended to ensure that public construction projects comply with Finnish labour requirements.
