Employees of companies whose work is subcontracted Camp Nou They condemned the insults. racists and discriminatory treatment by superiors Limakaffiliated company Barcelona Football Club He had the stadium renovated. “They treat us very badly, humiliatingly. The bosses are very racist.” This is the complaint of Camp Nou workers of sub-Saharan origin who contacted El Periódico de Catalunya of the Prensa Ibérica group after reported “labor exploitation” by some of their colleagues. They appear in this report under a pseudonym.
“It’s not just that they don’t pay us overtime, there’s also a lot of racism,” insists Alex, an employee who explains that they refer to him as: “damn black”. Another states that Access to some of the facilities was not allowed because of skin color.
Expert lawyers describe these practices as “racist” and encourage their official reporting. But the workers bow their heads. The employees, who requested special protection to prevent their identities from being recognized, responded, “If I do this, they will fire me, I cannot renew my work permit and I will be left without documents.”
One of them, as the contract shows, started work on the renovation of Camp Nou last June in one of the companies to which Limak is subcontracted. This Senegal-born employee wishes to remain anonymous to tell his story. He has stopped working at the stadium for two months but fears his former company will retaliate against him if he shows his face or name. “The bosses are very bad. They don’t talk to us, they shout at us… they are very racist,” he insists.
To the questions of El Periódico de Catalunya, Limak claims that it was unaware of these behaviors and “absolutely condemns” them. It explains that it will “initiate an internal investigation to verify the accuracy of the information and, if confirmed, take appropriate action.”
Banned because of skin color
Alex, because of the work he does on construction sites restricted area Not all employees have access. He did this in his first three days at the Camp Nou but suddenly a boss told him he could no longer get there. “The Turks told us this” They didn’t want black people, black people smell bad… they wanted us all gone and they only want white people there,” he tells El Periódico de Catalunya.
He points directly to the bosses at the stadium construction company Limak. Since then, his company, one of the subcontractors of the job, has hired two white people originally from the United States. Eastern Europe, to carry out this work and access that area of the facilities. “We can’t go back there because of our skin color, that’s racism,” this employee insists. Lawyer and consultant Josep Granados also says, “This behavior is racist.” SOS Racism Catalonia.
Insults and humiliations
AssaneThe worker, who does not want his name to be disclosed and uses this fake name, also says that he is the victim of insults because of his skin color. This Senegalese man says, “Turkish people disturb us a lot, they don’t like us.” “They constantly insult us. Instead of calling us by name or saying, ‘Hey, you, do this,’ They order us around, calling us ‘damn black’“says the angry man.
“They bother us a lot… One day, at folding time, they caught all of us, black and black. They left us last, white people went first“This is not right, they need to respect us, we should all be equal here,” Assane insists. “If they don’t want us here, don’t hire us, but they can’t insult us, ‘Scream or shout at us because of the color of our skin,’” he complains.
The Turkish company stated that “To date, the company is not aware of any case of discrimination based on ethnicity or race by Limak workers or subcontractors.”
“We are talking about degrading, humiliating and degrading treatment through the response of an obviously racial slur,” Granados insists. “Any discrimination to which a person is subjected based on his/her skin color which offends, discredits, humiliates or puts him/her at a disadvantage” act of racism It is an incident that must be condemned without reservation,” the lawyer adds.
“These are clearly cases of racial discrimination. According to their stories, the only difference in treatment is explained by skin color.” Carlos Castilla, doctor of law and lawyer specializing in human rights and immigration. “We’re not talking about that They are not authorized to do this job, nor do they have the necessary training, they are treated differently than their white counterparts who do exactly the same thing,” he insists.
Limak insists that they are signatories of the United Nations Global Compact, which “requires zero tolerance against all forms of discrimination, including ethnic discrimination.”
Have an ax to grind
“It is very important for those affected to publicize these cases so that we, as a society, can respond and work to stop them from becoming a part of daily life,” Granados said. Castilla points out that in these cases, those affected can report in various ways. Recommend There is documentary evidencesuch as obligations or possessions There are many witnesses to these discriminatory acts.. You can report this by going to NGO SOS Racismo’s free Assistance and Complaints Service (SAiD).
Another way is through the Non-Discrimination Department of the Barcelona City Council or the Road Equality Department of the Generalitat. Catalan equal treatment law allows such cases to be administratively sanctioned. It can also be disclosed to Inspecció de Treball. Granados asks management not to do “me”