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The Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK) receives reports from employees about abuses by employers at work and violated rights of employees almost every day. There are slightly fewer complaints during the summer, but with the onset of the pandemic and the Covid-19 quarantine, the reports floated one after another.
Lithuanians in Sweden – without pay or food
LPSK President Inga Ruginienė says there are many complaints from builders, who are exploited by Lithuanian employers. Recently, LPSK made history when a Lithuanian company took Lithuanian workers abroad. They had to work at any time of the day and without counting working hours.
“You sit in a room when your employer tells you, day or night, and you drive to the facility. How many hours did you say? This is how you work. He takes it to the room and takes it out again, like in a prison, ”says I. Ruginienė.
Abroad, they are promised mountains of gold and high wages, and when they leave, they see a completely different situation.
“We were approached by a man who was employed and working in Sweden, but when he left, he saw that the housing conditions were very bad and not as promised.
According to him, the employer lost 500 crowns at the beginning of the job and received nothing for a month after that. The man did not have money in his pocket to survive ”, says the interlocutor.
In Sweden, Lithuanians lived without money, they had some food from Lithuania, they shared it, but the food ran out and they went to rob the gardens from the Swedes.
According to I. Ruginienė, they were arrested by the local police: “As they said, for stealing cucumbers and tomatoes. They said they needed to eat somehow because they had no money. “
The men enlisted the help of relatives remaining in Lithuania, raised money for the return trip, fled work and went home.
“It just came to our attention then. The answer is most likely no way because since they escaped, they most likely have a fixed downtime. The question is whether or not he will” confess “that he is still in debt. Entrepreneurs are aware of this situation and are taking advantage of it. They know that there will be nothing for them, “says I. Ruginienė.
The LPSK president points out the trend that the most vulnerable are people who have problems with bailiffs in Lithuania. Employers especially enjoy it because they don’t complain anywhere.
People in Lithuania do not want to find work because they fear that the bailiffs will scan most of the money. According to I. Ruginienė, they are the last straw to go abroad.
Seasonal work in Šventoji – bed for five
Complaints about the accommodation of seasonal workers in Šventoji also reached the unions.
The employees complained when the landlord ordered the employees to move out of the rooms and evict them immediately.
When the time came in Lithuania, the owners rented those rooms to the arriving tourists.
Staff were told to move quickly to the billiard room, where there was only one sofa.
“The owner said they would live there for a few days. There are five employees and a sofa. The owner replied that there was nothing of the kind, you sat in shifts during the night ”, says I. Ruginienė.
According to her, the employees were not lost in this situation and refused to comply with the absurd demands.
“Employees work 14 or 20 hours during the season because people go in the middle of traffic. It is not that there are so many hours to work, but there is still no place to rest ”, says the interlocutor.
At the gas station you have to prepare food and clean the toilets: after work – in the snow
LPSK has received complaints from employees that the gas station has formed a “little kingdom” in which conditions are dictated by the boss and employee rights are violated.
Employees are mostly outraged by the extra work. They have to do additional work after work that lasts an hour or more, but it does not count.
“The boss not only explodes, but also taunts the employees. The mind is incomprehensible when the same employee stands at the cash register, prepares food, and later, after working hours, still needs to clean the toilets and wash the hallways.
It is logical that people are angry, because a person who cooks does not really have to clean the bathrooms, ”says I. Ruginienė.
People say that in winter, when it opens at 12 noon. and at night, after working hours, he also orders the snow to be removed. People asked to spend and do this work during work, they did not agree.
“They are asked to do additional work after working hours, when that additional work is no longer accounted for,” says the LPSK president.
After hours, employees have to do additional work and there is no more public transportation, so they have to call a taxi that the company does not pay for.
“It has been repeatedly requested that a contract be signed with a taxi company, which would be logical if a person stays to work longer. This was a negative response, so the employees also had to pay for the taxi service to return home at night, ”says I. Ruginienė.
Workers in the area fear they will not find another job.
The LPSK received another complaint from the region, which requested the State Labor Inspectorate for an investigation. Employees work full time, but average wages are so low that they don’t even reach the minimum wage.
“We have received a signal that the employees of the company work full time and even on Saturdays. Employees have additional responsibilities to transport goods in their cars.
It is curious that after checking the company, we found that the median of their salaries is 188 euros (on paper – Aut. Past). Obviously, they do not even reach the minimum wage, and trained people work. Such a small median can raise suspicions of undeclared work.
In a small district, there is a fear of contacting any institution, even anonymously, because in a small district, they fear that they will not be able to find work with another employer because all employers communicate with each other. People feel trapped, ”says I. Ruginienė.
Tell where to look for help
I. Ruginienė urges injured employees to apply to the State Labor Inspectorate (VDI) and the Labor Disputes Commission.
The SLI responds to complaints, and if a person complains, including details of what the inspector should specifically check, this is the most effective way.
The Labor Disputes Commission can help determine what each employee is legally entitled to. Therefore, if an employee feels that they have been cheated, illegally fired, that they have not paid their wages, unaccounted for work hours, they can definitely apply to the Labor Disputes Commission.
According to the SLI, the largest number – 156 – of complaints and notices of public interest in the construction sector were investigated in the first quarter of this year. In second place according to the number of complaints investigated – 146 – wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair. Third – 127 complaints investigated – manufacturing.
Transport and storage (85), other service activities (67), accommodation and food services (54), agriculture, forestry and fishing (50), administrative and support service activities (50), etc.
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