Romanians, Bulgarians and Lithuanians are among the main victims of the foreign labor exploitation in the EU, Liberation reports.
According to a report from the Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) EU agriculture, construction, hotels and restaurants are the main sectors affected by these criminal practices.
In the absence of a harmonized legal framework, effective controls and measures to protect victims, exploiters are far less likely to be watching or be forced to compensate their victims, the study says.
We are talking about an endemic problem and we must urgently put an end to it. EU Member States need to pursue further efforts to promote a climate of zero tolerance for criminal forms of labor exploitation, "said acting director of the FRA, Constantinos Manolopoulos, quoted in a statement.
"In most cases, consumers are not aware that oranges, wine, meat (...) shirts and shoes they buy" and "services provided at the hotel or restaurant can be the product of exploited workers," the report reveals.
Very low wages, often less than one euro per hour, workdays that exceed 12 hours and no days off at weekends are among the most common forms of exploitation, ill-treatment is sometimes accompanied by deplorable hygienic conditions and forced isolation of victims.
Apart from African and Asian immigrants, the "new" EU citizens - Bulgarians, Romanians and Lithuanians - are among the main victims of such cases, AFP reports.
The survey is based on information collected in the 21 of the 28 member countries.