A Greek and a Bulgarian have been charged with forcing a group of Bulgarian migrants to work 15 hours a day on a tobacco farm in northern Greece for just over one euro a day each.
Police found the seven migrants – six adults and a girl – near the farm earlier this week in a wretched state. They had been living in a stable, from which they say they were evicted for complaining about their pay – a total of 10 euros a day for all seven – and living conditions.
Police were tipped off by a Bulgarian woman who said her brother had asked her to deposit 600 euros in a bank account in order to secure his “release.” The employers said the 600-euro fee was to cover the cost of each migrant’s travel to Greece. But the migrants, who are now in a hostel, say they covered their own costs and had been told they would be paid 50 euros a day for the work.
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band annie's Weblog 
July 1, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Angry Arab,
You would have to be seriously naive to believe the employer’s claim here.
On my calculations, that means the workers would have to work sixty weeks, or more than one year, just to pay off the cost of the travel. Only after that, would they start earning some for themselves.
That is blatant extortion, and the employers should be punished very severely.
Unfortunately, these kinds of practices are all too common. I hope that they are punished in a manner which sets a clear example about the unacceptable nature of these offences.
Cheers
Andrew