Bar owner in Spain arrested for medieval exploitation of Moroccan employee

A bar owner in Spain has been arrested for labour exploitation after his employee worked 10 hour shifts, six days a week, without holidays for €700, over a three year period.

The bar owner in Terrasa, Barcelona, Spain, allegedly forced his employee to work without a work contract, holidays, health insurance or a meal break, nor did he have the worker officially registered.

The victim had reportedly been working at the bar for three years, six days a week for ten hours a day, and was only paid €700 euros monthly salary.

The National Police arrested the owner of the bar for labour exploitation, stating:

“The victim was practically forced to accept these extreme conditions”.

Police also carried out an inspection at the premises this July following an anonymous tip off that highlighted the vulnerable situation of the victim, of Moroccan origin, who had no social or family roots of any kind, as well as few academic studies.

“The victim was practically forced to accept these extreme conditions, a fact that the victim themselves stated in their statement”, the police stated, as reported by 20minutos.

The news follows reports of the National Police and Guardia Civil freeing more than a thousand victims of human trafficking and sexual or labour exploitation in 2021.