There are some thirty million Sikhs world-wide, but few were in Finland until relatively recently. Gill Sukhdarshan Singh was one of the first arrivals, moving to Finland back in the 1980s. In December, following a visit to the Indian province of Punjab, he decided to start wearing a turban at work.
That was fine with his employer for two months, before management ordered him to remove it to comply with uniform rules. Managers at the Veolia bus company did not want to comment for this report, but Mr Gill feels the ban was excessive.
"I have a right to my turban, and I am a Sikh also," says Mr Gill. "I believe it is no problem to any other religions, we do not disturb any other religions, we only believe in our own religion."
Defence forces next
The issue is not restricted to Mr Gill: his son Sukhnavdeep Singh Gill (known as Navi) also wears a turban and would like to complete his military service in Finland.
"Everybody has to and I want also to be one of them," asserts Navi. "It is my right to go and I want to be part of it, and my religion shouldn't be a problem. I don't want to be treated differently, it's my right and it shouldn't be a problem."
Navi says he is ready to fight for his right to serve his country wearing a turban. Sikhs have a proud military history, and have their own regiment in the Indian army.
Trade union support
Father and son point to several examples of authorities accommodating turbans abroad. Norway and Sweden both allow Sikhs in the military to wear turbans, while bus drivers in Britain have been able to don religious headgear since the 1960s.
Anu-Tuija Lehto, a lawyer at the trade union confederation SAK, told Yle that she is confident any legal challenge to the turban ban would be successful. In the meantime, Gill is framing the issue as one of integration and acceptance in Finland.
"I feel this is my right," says Mr Gill. "I pay tax, I work hard, and my family - my wife is also a bus driver, she pays tax - and our children are born in Finland, study in Finland, and we feel this is (a question of) minorities' rights. We have our own culture; we have our own religion."