Alex Trelinski
A 42-year-old Alicante Province business owner has been arrested for exploiting foreign workers at his Crevillente premises.
The work abuse included staff having to carry heavy bales of clothes into the factory.
Six workers were not paid the minimum wage as he preyed on their vulnerability because they could not speak Spanish and did not know their rights.
They had no residency or work permits with their employer exploiting them in working conditions that did not meet legal standards.
The employees were not covered by accident insurance and most of them did not have a work contract.
They earned a weekly wage of just €200 which was reduced if illness kept them away.
Working days were long without a break with their main task being the unloading of bales of used clothing from trucks.
The bales weighed around 80 kilos each and had to be carried on their backs without any form of machinery to help them.
Unsurprisingly the employees all suffered back and knee injuries caused by the heavy weights and the long hours.
They would frequently report for work having taken pain medication in the knowledge that they’d get nothing if they were absent because there was no sick pay.
READ MORE:
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