Pharaonic remodeling of the Camp Nou: And workers' rights?

FC Barcelona is demolishing part of the Spotify Camp Nou to renovate it and build a new ultra modern stadium. The budget for the project "Barça Space" It is 1.500 million euros that come from 20 investors and financing agreements with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. The construction is carried out by the Turkish company Limak Construction Europe S.L, chosen by the Blaugrana authorities to lower costs in 300 millions of euros.  

Workers report how they can

Between the millionaire dance of investment and the impressive digitalized models that project the future stadium, exploitation and poor working conditions have just appeared for among 400 Y 1.500 employees, depending on the stage of the work. Just some pseudonymous testimonials, for fear of dismissal and retaliation, realize what is happening. Mohamed said: “It is very hard, you work whether it's hot or raining. When you get home your feet shake… you end up destroyed”, Mamadou, has counted: “I am very afraid of falling, of hurting myself and not being able to work… it is very difficult, very hard”. “They told me they would pay me eight euros an hour, that I had to work 10 hours a day and to sign the contract”. “Clear, We are all immigrants who haven't been here long.: we don't know how to read or write, nor how the law works. That's why they deceive us and take advantage of us.”. "Feel like a slave, that I have no rights. They take advantage of you and you can't do anything because you need the job”.

It is known from a journalistic investigation

The five-month investigation by El PERIÓDICO and the video documental they are shocking, have concluded with alarming data. “Work more than ten hours each day, from Monday to Saturday, bending back to remove heavy debris, dismantling metal structures from several meters high and all this in the heat of summer and this unusually torrid autumn. In exchange for a salary in many cases of little more than 1.000 euros per month, "below the construction agreement and with an hourly price that is below the minimum wage".

For immigrants, hard and poorly paid work

The coordination tasks of the work and the qualified personnel are in charge of Limak. The pawns, installers and other trades are handled by subcontracted companies, The hardest manual work is done by Moroccan workers, pakistanis, Bolivians, Senegalese and other foreigners. It is the scheme that is repeated in other large constructions in progress such as the future La Sagrera AVE station and the Plaza de The Glories. The bench of the CUP in the Parliament, has denounced the “subcontract web” for labor exploitation and the fact that it is “migrants, Poor people and people from humble origins also have the right to develop their vital projects with independence and dignity.”.

It's not an exception

In Spain as a whole, between January and September 2023, in construction they have lost their lives 99 people and there were 747 serious accidents. And this is not only in Spain, from the 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work held in Sydney, the International Labor Organization (OIT), has published a report indicating that they are 750.000 people who die around the world due to events like those denounced by Camp Nou workers. If all the types of accidents and illnesses related to work are added, the number of workers per year reaches almost 3.000.000.

The responsible

The spokespersons for the Club chaired by Joan Laporta have said: “FC Barcelona does not have any direct contractual relationship with the subcontracted companies, but the contractual relationship is only with Limak”. And they deny everything “no worker is suffering labor abuse”, There will possibly be “payroll error” Y “We do not have 2.000 workers sleeping on the street; “things work”.

The employers have proposed: “Limak does not tolerate any case of irregularity with workers. For the moment, “No complaint has been identified by any employee of the subcontracted companies”. The Generalitat, chaired by Pere Aragonès, has recognized that the situation of workers as a “worrying issue” and has sent to the group of Labor Inspection, but the lack of inspectors makes control tasks difficult and it is evident that it does not tighten the pins since it is known that, for example, the company Solrigol S.L. which is one of the contractors has a history of files for violations.

Definitely, wash your hands, They deny everything or do not do enough in the face of such serious complaints, implying that the workers lie. The insensitivity and cynicism of bosses and rulers has no limits. They are not only responsible for the current situation, They will also be affected by what may happen to the health and lives of workers in the future..

The problem is not football but capitalism

All support for the demands of the Camp Nou workers so that their lives, their salaries and labor rights are fully respected. Declarations are not enough, the CC union centers. AND. y UGT, They must take concrete measures to protect labor rights and safety., in Catalonia and throughout the Spanish State. Enough of complicity with governments and employers, A plan of struggle is needed with mobilizations and a general strike for a salary increase, against precariousness and labor rights.

Barca supporters have nothing to do with this., nor the millions of people in the world who love football. What has reappeared is the exploitation to which the workers who build stadiums are subjected, as has happened in the world cups in Brazil, Qatar and elsewhere. Millionaire investments in infrastructure are made under the worst working conditions, Competitive offers from construction companies are based on the payment of miserable salaries and the worst working conditions. from now, It is no surprise that sport is taken as big business, nor is the submission of workers to the dominant relations of production where the bosses act as true masters to obtain profits.. This is the essence of capitalism that must be defeated.