The main contractor commits that, as required by applicable Finnish law and the relevant collective agreement, it will ensure that employees receive payments due to them if their employers fail to pay.
On 31 August 2026, Finnish Minerals Group (FMG) as the minority owner of Easpring Finland New Materials announced that it would commission an independent legal assessment into the employment terms applied in subcontracting at the Kotka CAM plant construction site in Finland. The concerns raised publicly related, among other things, to changes in the terms of employment, accommodation and meal costs, and the possible so-called wage clawback arrangement.
The assessment was carried out by the law firm Castrén & Snellman, which reviewed contractual and other written material and interviewed employees, trade unions and companies involved in the construction project.
The assessment identifies a need to improve practices at the construction site
According to the assessment, three employment contracts based on Finnish law had been concluded with the installation workers who came from China: two with a staffing services company and one with the subcontractor. In their essential respects, these contracts complied with the collective agreement for the construction sector. However, communication concerning contract amendments and transfers has been unclear, and not all employees had given their consent to them.
Some employees have signed an agreement that requires them to repay to a foreign staffing agency any portion of their wages that exceeds the agreed total remuneration. When such an arrangement is implemented, employee’s earnings will fall below the minimum level of the Finnish collective agreement in situations where the remuneration paid in Finland exceeds the agreed total remuneration. However, the main contractor China Harbour Engineering Company or project company Easpring Finland, do not recognize or accept the legality or enforceability of the arrangement.
Meal and accommodation costs were covered by tripartite agreements between the staffing agency, the subcontractor and service providers, on the basis of which the costs were deducted from wages. This kind of practice is in itself lawful, but this had not been agreed with the employees in writing. In addition, feedback regarding accommodation conditions had not been given sufficient consideration.
The assessment found no indication that parties higher up in the contractual chain, such as China Harbour or Easpring Finland, were involved in or aware of the irregularities identified.
The companies do not accept any violation of employees’ rights
FMG, the project company Easpring Finland and the main contractor China Harbour emphasise that violating employees’ rights is not acceptable. Easpring Finland and China Harbour are taking corrective measures to ensure that employees are treated fairly in Finland. China Harbour, the main contractor in the construction project, has committed to ensuring that subcontractors’ employees, too, receive remuneration for their work in accordance with Finnish employment terms while working in Finland. Some of the unpaid wages were already paid last week, and the remaining amounts will be paid once the missing amounts have been clarified.
”As the project company, we take it very seriously that practices which do not meet the requirements of Finnish working life have occurred at our construction site. We have reviewed the findings of the independent assessment together with the main contractor, and we will ensure that the necessary corrective measures are implemented without delay,” says CEO of Easpring Finland New Materials Jashon Guan.
”As the main contractor, we want to ensure that the employees in the contracting chain are treated equally. We will act in accordance with Main Contractor’s responsibilities under applicable Finnish legislation and the relevant collective agreement to ensure that employees receive the payments to which they are legally entitled. Once the construction phase has been completed, we will prepare a responsibility report reviewing the shortcomings identified in the contracting chain and the corrective measures, also with a view to other projects,” says China Harbour Engineering Company Finland Branch’s Dong Liangmin, the General Director.
”The assessment has highlighted challenges in the construction sector that require solutions within the project. The project company, the main contractor and FMG are committed to cooperation and to strengthening responsibility so that the situation can be corrected and similar situations prevented. I would also like to thank the Finnish Construction Trade Union for its excellent cooperation and expert assistance in clarifying the situation. Based on the results of the assessment, we as a part-owner require stronger supervision of contracting and even more rigorous contract management throughout the contracting chain,” says FMG’s CEO Matti Hietanen.
Further information for the media:
Matti Hietanen, CEO, Finnish Minerals Group
+358 40 823 8806, firstname.lastname(at)mineralsgroup.fi
Jashon Guan, CEO, Easpring Finland New Materials
+358 50 511 7927, guanyunlong(at)easpring.com
Vesa Koivisto, Chief Commercial Officer, Easpring Finland New Materials
+358 50 453 6322, firstname.lastname(at)easpring.fi
Lin Tao, Deputy General Director & PR Officer, China Harbour Finland Branch
+358 44 028 8855, tlin(at)chec.bj.cn
