Laurence Dollimore
A GROUP of workers have been rescued from ‘slave-like’ conditions in a tourist hotspot in Spain.
The restaurant staff were all working for a ‘well-known’ businessman in Escorca, Mallorca, a destination popular with British tourists.
They were forced to work between 12 and 14 hours per day for six days a week and would only receive €40 per day.
That’s as little as €2.80 per hour.
They were also refused their holiday days and often had to do the work of cooks, cleaning and maintenance staff.
They signed their payslips with such low salaries as they were threatened with dismissal if they didn’t, police said.
The owners and managers, aged 39, 59 and 60 have all been arrested for crimes against workers’ rights and for threatening workers.
Policia Nacional rumbled the operation following a tip off last month.
The ‘well-known’ restaurant was investigated for several weeks before officers moved in and made the arrests.
The restaurant and its owners have not been named.
They took advantage of the seven victims, who felt forced to accept the slave-like conditions owing to their own economic and personal struggles.
