Arrested in Palma a hotelier for exploiting his workers with 12-hour shifts

PalmaThe National Police have arrested a businessman and hotelier from Palma for exploiting workers, whom he forced to work up to 12 hours a day for a salary that barely reached 1,000 euros per month. The events date back to last summer, when officers from the Provincial Brigade of Immigration and Borders, during a routine inspection, detected that one of the suspect's employees was in an irregular situation.

The Labor and Social Security Inspectorate then fined him 10,000 euros, the Superior Headquarters of the Balearic Islands Police reported. This summer, officers verified that the same businessman had two more people working in an irregular situation at the same restaurant and one more in a business he had recently opened. The employment conditions, in addition to being outside the employment contract, violated labor rights legislation regarding daily working hours, rest days, and holidays, as well as the salary they received.

The workers stated that they worked 12-hour days, sometimes at night, and that they could rest one day a week, but had never had holidays. The salary they were offered barely reached 1,000 euros, but they explained that they accepted it because they needed to contribute to the family economy in their countries of origin. For all these reasons, the businessman has been arrested as the alleged perpetrator of a crime against workers' rights.