job inspection Last September, the Generalitat of Catalonia detected signs of labor fraud in one of the companies outsourced in his works Camp NouAs confirmed from different sources by El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group. It was alleged that one of the workers impersonated another person and operated in the stadium under an employment contract. And among his colleagues, numbering just under twenty, the ‘labour police’ are in the process of investigating and monitoring whether their pay slips are in order and that they are not earning less than the collective agreement stipulates.
Currently, Inspecció is completing its investigations and preparing for sanctions against the company Pak Reforma Y Obra SL, one of the subcontractors involved in stadium demolition operations until recently. Operations for which the main contractor is responsible, Limak Construction Europe SLThe company appointed by Football Club Barcelona to renovate Camp Nou.
When asked about this by the media, Limak initially denied that the labor authority had detected any improprieties. He later acknowledged the incident with this subcontractor and claimed: ” suppliers He was not directly cooperating with Limak, which stopped working on the project in September.” He also confirms that as soon as the inspectors detected possible fraud, they began to suspend the company in question. “This situation shows that Limak rigidity And sensitivity “It is part of Limak’s working policy,” they add from the company.
Identity impersonation, that is, when an employee impersonates another person and enters the work site to work with his own documents, is an administrative offense and financially punishable. During a surprise visit during September, the Labor Inspector found that an employee of Pak Reforma y Obra SL had committed the violation in question. Investigations are not yet complete and further irregularities may be revealed.
Construction is an industry where some companies resort to illegal practices in order to reduce costs and become a competitive option for contractors. “Subcontractor companies are very diverse, but we find that a significant majority of them have problems complying with the agreement. And this is a big problem for the sector,” says the head of CCOO de Catalunya construction. Andreu Ogayar.
“The industry has modernized and has nothing to do with what it was 20 years ago. There is logically more control and compliance in large, solvent companies where we have union representation. Where we do not have representation, minimum labor standards or risk prevention are often not met,” says the head of construction at Catalonia UGT. Juani Arenas.
“Non-payment of the relevant salary, non-assignment of the relevant professional categories, systematic non-compliance with overtime…”, lists the lawyer at Col·lectiu Ronda Nacho Parra. “Violations are very common in subcontractor chains and the construction industry in general,” he adds.
“Often the owners of these pirate companies own more than one company, run it for a while, and when too many fines accumulate, they bankrupt it or close it down and open it with another company, with a different name, with a different manager. And that’s how they survive,” explains Ogayar from CCOO de Catalunya.
Repeated fraud
Identity theft fraud is a form of fraud that is targeted at the person who acts as a criminal in certain industries. Home delivery food delivery companies from which ‘riders’ rent accounts are one of them. Glovo anyone Uber In order to open the account, the user pays a certain percentage of the profit he/she earns to the account owner along with the work and residence permit.
According to a worker of Pakistani origin who has been working in the sector for years, it is also present in the construction industry. He explains how a colleague of his, who is also Pakistani and does not have a residence or work permit in Spain (in an irregular administrative situation), managed to work on construction sites. ‘renting’ documents to a citizen Having a residence and work permit.
They had both already met in Pakistan, so when the undocumented worker arrived in Barcelona, he already knew who to go to to find work. The Pakistani with documents signed the contract: the contract is in his name and he receives his salary at the end of each month. It also contributes to social security. “But he’s actually in Pakistan,” explains the employee, who wishes to remain anonymous.. “In some jobs, of course, they know that, because they see other Pakistanis walking in every day and they know he’s not who he says he is,” he insists. “In others, they don’t even realize it,” he adds.
The worker, who is not working at the end of the month and is thousands of kilometers away from Spain, collects his payroll from his Spanish bank account.. The Pakistani, who works on the construction site for 10 hours a day, does not even have a bank account in Barcelona. “It is very difficult for them to open a bank account if you do not have documents,” the employee insists to this newspaper. Thus, the fictitious worker sends the money to the person working on his behalf every month. “He acts as if it were an international transfer and sends the money to you. Sometimes they agree on a percentage, sometimes whatever they want.” he explains.
“The person working on your behalf will never report you because this is the only way to get paid in Spain.“, the employee explains to this newspaper. “The problem is that they take advantage of him, they do what they want to him… it’s not fair, it’s not normal and people need to know about it,” he insists.
Source: Informacion
James Sean is a writer for “Social Bites”. He covers a wide range of topics, bringing the latest news and developments to his readers. With a keen sense of what’s important and a passion for writing, James delivers unique and insightful articles that keep his readers informed and engaged.