Man arrested in Palma for exploiting and assaulting seafarer over four months
The National Police arrested a businessman accused of detaining a worker on a yacht, paying her only 480 euros out of the 17,500 she was owed. The victim suffered assault, lack of food and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Arrest for labour exploitation on vessel
The National Police has arrested a man in Palma accused of labour exploitation after detaining a worker on a yacht for four months, according to 20minutos.es. During that period, he paid her only 480 euros of the 17,500 she should have received. The woman, employed as a ship's stewardess, reported assault, lack of food and abusive working conditions.
Officers from the Central Unit for Illegal Immigration Networks and Document Falsification (Ucrif) initiated the investigation following a complaint filed by the victim. The employer had several workers contracted on the vessel. The complainant received only small amounts of money for basic necessities rather than regular wages.
Conditions on the yacht were extreme. The worker stated that on some days she slept less than four hours due to constant tasks that exceeded her capabilities. She went hungry on several occasions, eating only half a sandwich because there was no more food available. She also suffered degrading treatment and physical assault.
The victim suffered carbon monoxide poisoning caused by deficiencies in the vessel's systems, which caused her lasting effects including temporary partial deafness. Unable to continue in that situation and with no prospect of receiving what was owed to her, she abandoned the yacht and returned to her country of origin after filing her complaint.
The investigation by Ucrif Group I identified irregularities in the administration of the yacht: disconnection of the GPS location system (AIS), deficiencies in crew sign-on and sign-off records, and failures in border controls.
Source: El Confidencial