HIBAPRESS – Mohamed Zariouh
In a precise security operation, the Spanish National Police in the occupied city of Melilla managed to uncover a case of illegal labor exploitation inside a bakery, which led to the arrest of the employer on suspicion of involvement in human trafficking crimes.
The authorities were able to identify several violations related to the employment of workers without employment contracts and their illegal presence on Spanish territory. According to preliminary investigations, the police discovered that the workers, of Moroccan nationality, were working in the bakery without being registered in the Spanish Social Security or obtaining official contracts. In addition, difficult living conditions were found in the bakery, where one of the workers lived inside the same building, in a place that lacked the most basic necessities of life, such as a kitchen and a bathroom. Investigations confirmed that the workers were subjected to exploitation over the years, as one of them spent 16 years working in the bakery, while the other spent 7 years in similar conditions, with long working hours extending from four in the morning until after three in the afternoon daily, without rest periods or holidays, in exchange for low wages ranging between 400 and 500 euros per month. According to security sources, the owner of the bakery was directly responsible for these illegal conditions, which prompted the police to arrest him and present him to the judicial authorities on charges of labor exploitation, while investigations into the case continue. This operation reveals flagrant exploitation of workers in the absence of legal supervision. Extensive questions have been raised about the living conditions suffered by many migrant workers in the occupied city of Melilla, and the need to strengthen legal procedures to guarantee their rights and protect them from any kind of exploitation. Human rights activists call for the need to hold those responsible for these criminal acts accountable, which have continuously deprived workers of their rights for years. Pending the results of the judicial investigations, this case remains a stark reminder of the need to improve working conditions and protect the rights of workers, especially in cases where vulnerable groups in society are exploited.
