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The Portuguese government is following the alleged abusive hiring of Portuguese workers abroad, following several situations in Luxembourg that the Portuguese ambassador reported to Portugal, according to an official source.
Since the beginning of covid-19 pandemic that the Portuguese embassy in Luxembourg has registered an increase in cases of Portuguese who are hired in Portugal to work in civil construction companies, owned by the Portuguese, and that when they arrive they encounter exploitation situations.
Ambassador already heard of cases
Recently, the Portuguese ambassador to Luxembourg, António Gamito, told Lusa that he had heard of several Portuguese workers, some of whom were elderly, who responded to a newspaper ad to work for a Portuguese construction company in the Grand Duchy and ended up receiving less than promised and working much harder and unconditionally.
According to a Diário de Notícias report Last Thursday, the workers were treated “like slaves” by the Portuguese businessman Helder Pereira, of the HP Construction company.
Portuguese forced to flee
Faced with unemployment and attracted by a salary higher than that practiced in civil construction in Portugal, the pthe portuguese had to flee, according to the newspaper.
António Gamito learned of the case, the fourth since taking office two years ago, and immediately reported the situation to the Luxembourg and Portuguese authorities.
The Portuguese government monitors abusive recruitment
A source from the office of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities told Lusa that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “has been following this case through the Portuguese embassy in Luxembourg, which has taken due diligence requesting the intervention of the Ministry’s Inspection. of Foreign Relations of Luxembourg “. Ministry of Labor and Mines, already carried out ”.
In Portugal, “the situation was transmitted to the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, with a view to a coordinated approach to this issue,” said the same source, according to which “the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities also communicated it to the competent authorities “.
“Abusive hiring of Portuguese workers” will be discussed during a meeting of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities with the Union of Construction, Wood, Marble, Quarry, Ceramic and Building Materials Workers in Portugal.
Almost 73,000 Portuguese live in Luxembourg, which represents more than 12% of the population, estimated at 264,000 inhabitants, according to data from the Emigration Observatory.
