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Tuesday, 19th - Monday 25th September 2017
Two arrestsin Almoradíforexploitation Officers from the National Police have arrested two people in connection with an alleged labour exploitation offence in an agricultural and livestock farm in Almoradí. One of the detainees is an entrepreneur who had allegedly given instructions to employees - usually foreigners in the country without papers - to hide in the manure heap on the farm to avoid detection should any officials came calling. The two are alleged to have committed a crime of documentary misrepresentation and crimes against the rights of workers. Police were alerted to a potentially illegal situation at the farm following a complaint lodged at police
stations in Murcia, tipping officers off regarding a series of irregularities within the small holding. Officers from the National Police
began a joint investigation and verified that at the farm appeared to be committing irregularities in the level of labour it employed. In addition, the
company did not have the required safety equipment which is included in the regulations on the Prevention of Occupational Risks. Owners were also leasing accommodation to the workers, which were little more that ‘booths’ located inside the farm, some of them with ‘very little safety conditions or comforts’. At the time of the police and labour inspection, two retired foreign nationals were also working. According to the statements of those involved, it is believed that the employer allegedly used to hire foreigners who were desperate for work as they had no official or legal paperwork. It is said that the employer gave them strict instructions on how to act in case of a police presence, such as hiding in the manure heap on the farm ‘to avoid detection’. In addition, the farm manager is alleged to have made up an employment relationship with another person in order
for the pretend worker to obtain certain ‘administrative benefits’ for foreigners through a false work contract. This falsehood was detected by the Office of Foreigners in Murcia and notice was given to the Labour Inspection Unit of Alicante, which annulled all fraudulent benefits of this alleged worker. The investigators have arrested the employer and the person who simulated this non-existent employment relationship and who was also in an irregular situation in Spain. Both, after being heard in court have been released with charges. Mireille Toddington
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