Foreign workers living in appalling conditions in Corfu

The Corfu Construction Workers' Union, following complaints it received, intervened and uncovered a particularly disturbing form of “hospitality” on our island.

It has been well known in recent times that in the Barbati area, large numbers of construction workers of Asian origin, wearing orange vests, are seen moving around day and night.

What is not widely known—and what we are obliged to denounce, especially to the working people of Corfu—are the appalling living conditions of these workers, conditions that are incompatible with the standards of our time.

A delegation from the union and the Workers Centre, following an on-site visit, found that more than 150 fellow construction workers from China are being 'accommodated', crammed together in the yard of a partially collapsed building, in prefabricated structures of questionable quality and construction, without any measures to protect their lives or health.

Indicatively, we note that the workers eat in something resembling an outdoor taverna, in the middle of winter, surrounded by laundry hanging around them.

Once again, we denounce the enormous responsibilities of the current government, as well as of all those who to this day have paved the political path that has turned workplaces into arenas, dismantled all inspection mechanisms, and enabled major contractors and large construction companies—such as the specific Chinese construction firm—to operate unchecked, with their sole concern being how to stuff their pockets, far removed from any notion of protecting human life.

We denounce all the authorities responsible for inspecting and preventing such phenomena—from the Ministry of Labour to the Municipality and the Regional Authority—especially when these practices are taking place openly just a few metres from the main road.

Greek and foreign workers demand:

• The immediate relocation of our fellow workers to humane and modern accommodation, at the employer’s expense.

• The IMMEDIATE mobilisation of all competent inspection bodies: labour inspection, urban planning authorities, the fire service, and health services.

• The safeguarding of wages and insurance for our fellow workers through the application of the sectoral collective agreement to them as well.

• A 7-hour workday, 5-day workweek, 35-hour workweek.

The labour movement of Corfu must show zero tolerance toward practices that degrade and endanger workers’ lives—no more “VIOLANTES.”