A shocking investigative piece by BuzzFeed News alleges that Ukranian workers are being lured to work in German warehouses in horrendous conditions. The news server spoke with a Ukrainian woman who was lured to Germany based on a promise of working for €7 per hour, far more than she could earn at home. She paid €1,000 in savings for the chance, including €200 to an intermediary, for the opportunity. Upon arrival in Berlin, she was told the promised jobs in a coffee factory were gone and that she would have to travel to Hamburg instead. She ended up living in a house in Tespe, an hour away from a huge factory warehouse where she packed car parts. She was immediately docked two months of pay (€600) for two months of rent. She claims that the house she was supposed to live in was filled with dozens of other Ukranians and lacked basic items like dishes, utensils though there was a kettle boil water in. She also complained that work conditions were extremely difficult and that she was not allowed to sit down. The woman names the international logistics company she claimed to be working for, but BuzzFeed reported that it had no evidence to prove her claim, though it names the company in the article.
Several Ukranians BuzzFeed spoke with said that along with rent deductions from their salaries, they were also charged for gasoline used by the car that brought them to work and for special boots they had to wear while working. The result was to make it difficult for workers to get out of debt.
