Guest Chinese workers exploited by a Gothenburg based Company – one reason why these companies love immigrant labour – “exploitation”.
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Six Chinese guest workers who worked at an Asian food wholesales dealer
in Gothenburg Sweden, known as Asia Food in the neighbourhood of
Hisingen have been identified as being wantonly exploited by the
company.
They have been reported to have been paid far below the minimum level
of collective agreement, working 300 hours a month with no holidays,
and lived in barracks without hot water. To show that they are being
held as slaves, their employers took their passports, reports radio
Sweden.
“We feel very sorry and aggrieved,” said Liu Xin Kui to radios Sweden who is one of the guest workers who feel exploited.
The Chinese guest workers all come from Shandong Province in eastern
China, and have paid Skr30,000 for a recruitment agency to find them a
job in Sweden. Two of them came over five years ago, two came two years
ago. They got a job at a wholesaler which supply Asian food to
restaurants and the likes, based in Goteborg.
Radio Sweden reports that working conditions have been very tough,
according to the recorded working hours they have worked – about 300
hours a month without a holiday. Meanwhile, they have been paid far
below minimum levels in the collective agreement the company signed.
Net pay, which the recipients have had, falls well below minimum
levels. That’s what they had left after the employer have taken every
costs of more than Skr6500 per person for accommodation and food.
According to estimates by the trade union organisation, Handels,
dealing with matter, the company owes the workers more than a million
krona.
Liu Xin Kui told radio Sweden that they do not understand that they are entitled to much better working hours and pay.
“We had no idea about this. We have never seen any contract or
agreement, and we do not know how many hours we have signed in the
contract.” According the investigation, the guest workers also have
very deplorable accommodation and quality food. They have lived two
each in a rooms in the barracks inside the fenced storage area, where
there should have been no water and toilets during the frozen winter.
Anne-Maj Lindblom, working as Ombudsman of Commerce in the Gothenburg areas, is concerned and told radio Sweden:
“I find it very worrying in the light that we have six people, six people, who are doing very poorly paid work today.”
Tong Kim Trinh the CEO of Asia Food, categorically denies the
information, arguing among other things that the guest workers got paid
about Skr19 000 in net salary.
But id if he has prove the CEO said he has but when asked if he can
send the papers or pay checks for verification he said “No, I can not.”
By Scancomark.com Team
