'They don't have passports and are owed wages': Doubts about the exploitation of workers at the Linglong construction site in Serbia

 

According to photos provided to Radio Free Europe (RSE) by non-governmental organizations, workers from India, employed on the construction of the Chinese tire factory Linglong in Zrenjanin, in northeastern Serbia, live there.

 

At the construction site about 80 kilometers from Belgrade, they spent, as they claim, six days a week for ten hours, without adequate equipment.

 

And then the subcontractor who hired them, they say, took their passports and stopped paying their wages.

 

"They don't have passports, they don't have plane tickets to return home, and they haven't been paid their wages," Jasmina Krunić from the non-governmental organization "Astra" told RSE.

 

This organization filed a criminal complaint on behalf of 11 workers due to suspicions of human trafficking and labor exploitation, and the police and prosecutor's office in Zrenjanin confirmed to RSE that they are investigating the case.

 

Linglong, on the other hand, in his answer to RSE, rejects the connection with this case.

 

Jasmina Krunić points out that the workers want payment of debts and plane tickets to India, but also to leave a written record before the competent institutions of Serbia about the violation of their rights.

 

According to the copy of the contract provided to them by the workers, they were not hired by Linglong, but by another Chinese company, registered in Serbia, which was a subcontractor to Linglong in the construction of the factory complex.

 

In Zrenjanin, where the largest Linglong tire factory in this part of Europe is being built, a similar scenario was recorded two years ago.

The attention of international institutions was attracted by suspicions of the exploitation of hundreds of workers from Vietnam, who were hired by one of the subcontractors to build the factory.

 

While the government in Serbia, which boasts of "steel friendship" with China, said that Linglong is the "most controlled construction site" in the country, some members of the European Parliament assessed that the treatment of Vietnamese workers is "modern slavery".

 

The European Parliament, in a resolution from 2021, asked Serbia to investigate this case. The non-governmental activists pointed out that everything was over with the return of the workers to Vietnam - without initiating proceedings.

 

'Left at the mercy of management'

 

"I draw a parallel - the same construction site, the same scenography", assesses Jasmina Krunić from "Astra", comparing the case of Vietnamese workers with a group from India.

 

"We are partially encouraged, because this time there is a higher level of response from certain state bodies and institutions," he adds.

 

However, he emphasizes that non-governmental activists are concerned about the safety of workers from India, after they went public with their claims.

 

"Not all mechanisms were used to protect the workers, they were already exposed to threats several times and were left in that accommodation near the Linglong complex at the mercy of the management of the Chinese company that hired them," she concludes.

 

What do institutions do?

The higher public prosecutor's office in Zrenjanin replied to RSE that they submitted a request to the police "to collect the necessary information" regarding the case of the worker from India.

 

They say that a request for inspection was sent to the Labor Inspectorate.

 

"Further checks are underway, after which adequate decisions will be made," the Prosecutor's Office said on February 2.

 

The police confirmed to RSE that they are acting on the order of the prosecution after the report of the non-governmental organization Astra, but they did not provide more information.

 

It was also confirmed for RSE, without providing details, that the Protector of Citizens is acting in this case.

 

The answers, however, did not come from the labor inspection - whether the inspectors started monitoring the construction site and what was found.

 

'Beds without mattresses, dampness on the walls'

 

"They sleep on beds without mattresses, moisture from the bathroom penetrates the walls of the bedroom", this is how Tara Rukeci Milivojević from the non-governmental Zrenjanin Social Forum describes the barracks where workers from India live.

 

They were among the first addresses the workers turned to.

 

"They complained to us about bad food, they received inadequate meals," she adds.

 

The activist of the Zrenjani Social Forum appeals for an immediate response from the authorities.

 

"What are they waiting for? For the workers to leave, so that the institutions that are supposed to determine that they are victims of human trafficking say that they are no longer available to them and that the case be closed without prosecuting those responsible?", asks Rukeci Milivojević.

 

'26 working days, ten hours a day'

 

Jasmina Krunić relays the testimonies of the workers, which were recorded by "Astra" lawyers in the field.

 

"The idea was for them to come to Serbia and work to support their families in India. A lot of them got into debt in order to start the journey, attracted by the promised salary, which is very good for Indian conditions," she describes.

 

But the contract that "Astra" had insight into, emphasizes Krunić, is not in accordance with Serbian law and international standards.

 

"There is no job description and what your exact duties are, the contract is for 26 working days a month, ten hours a day. That is beyond what is allowed by law," he enumerates.

 

The law in Serbia prescribes working hours of 40 hours per week, and the working week, as a rule, lasts five days.

 

According to the workers, their wages were paid in hand, about 700 dollars in dinar equivalent.

 

However, Jasmina Krunić points out, the contract does not specify whether it is a gross or net amount.

 

He was signed for two years.

 

 

"That says a lot about whether anyone has ever paid taxes and contributions for these people. As foreign workers, they also have these working rights, however, we do not have an answer to that question yet," the coordinator of "Astra" points out.

 

"In addition to the fact that at one point they stopped paying them their wages, they sent them to work for which they were not trained, nor did they have adequate equipment," he describes.

 

Krunić also emphasizes that the workers are currently not provided with permits to stay and work in Serbia, which was the employer's obligation.

 

"From all that, we suspect that this is a case of human trafficking for the purpose of exploitation," he concludes.

 

Linglong claims that the workers from India are not building the factory

Responding to allegations of violation of workers' rights, Linglong says that they did not hire workers from India.

 

"The mentioned workers of Indian nationality are not employed and have never been employed by the company Linglong International Europe, nor do they work on the construction project of the factory complex in Zrenjanin," Linglong wrote in the answer to RFE/RL.

 

They add that they are employees of the company "China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd." and that they are "working on another project", without specifying which one.

 

However, the company that Linglong lists as responsible for the workers from India does not match the name of the company in the contract that the workers submitted to the non-governmental organization "Astra".

 

In that contract, it is written that it was concluded in the summer of 2022 with a company called "China Energy Construction Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co. Ltd", but Linglong claims in an answer to RSE that he terminated cooperation with them in September 2022.

 

Linglong also says that in relations with employees it "strictly adheres to the laws and regulations" of Serbia and the European Union, and that it will "adequately and ethically manage" its business, contractors and subcontractors.

 

"Linglong will continue to adhere to principles focused on employee welfare and ensure continued compliance with laws and regulations," the response concluded.

 

The company, however, did not respond to a question about what action it had taken after the Indian workers' claims of exploitation at the site became public.

Subcontractor documents show cooperation with Linglong

 

China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd, the firm Linglong claims hired workers from India, did not respond to RFE's questions.

 

According to the data of the Agency for Business Registers (APR), it was founded in November 2022, with its headquarters in the elite Belgrade neighborhood of Dedinje, and its activity is the construction of residential and non-residential buildings.

 

It is owned by the company of the same name based in the capital of China, Beijing.

 

The financial data of this company for 2023 were not published in the commercial register, and it is stated that in 2022 they had fourteen employees and a loss of about 15 million dinars, i.e. 134,000 euros.

 

Although Linglong claims that this company is not building a factory complex, the financial documents of China First Highway Engineering Co. Ltd. for 2022, they state the opposite.

 

"The company's branch in Serbia took over the second and sixth sections of the Linglong tire factory construction project, and then took over the first, third, fourth and fifth sections of the project," it says in the annual report on the company's operations, which was analyzed by RSE.

 

Even the company mentioned in the contract of workers from India - China Energy Construction Tianjin Electric Power Construction Co. - did not respond to RFE's questions until the conclusion of the text. Ltd, with which Linglong, according to its own claims, had cooperation until September 2022.

 

Is Linglong responsible for the construction site?

 

Jasmina Krunić from "Astra" points out that the principle of "due diligence", which is a European standard, obliges the Linglong company to be responsible for the actions of the companies they cooperate with.

 

"We can all play crazy when they (Linglong) say they didn't hire them, but the point of the 'due diligence' principle is that you are responsible for the supplier, the subcontractor. These workers have passes that say Linglong, it's documented, they are located in the Linglong complex," she emphasizes.

 

He adds that Linglong must ensure that their associates do not violate human rights and pollute the environment.

 

"You can't be completely irresponsible because it's 'another company', since you do business together," he concludes.

 

 

When it comes to the actions of Serbian institutions, the coordinator of "Astra" believes that the key is the political will of the authorities to investigate allegations of violations of labor and human rights at construction sites like Linglong.

 

Chinese investments and infrastructure projects in Serbia are part of the "Belt and Road" initiative.

 

It is about the "new silk road" of Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the aim of connecting China with Europe and penetrating the West.

 

At the same time, these projects are under the scrutiny of the European Union, where there is concern whether they violate European rules of transparency and environmental protection.

 

The reports of the European Commission on the progress of Serbia, as a candidate for membership in the Union, repeatedly warned against this.