Part 1: How Filipinos landed in Belgium’s biggest trafficking scandal
Summary
Date Reported: 7 Jun 2023
Location: Belgium
Companies
Borealis (joint venture Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of Abu Dhabi & OMV). - Other Value Chain Entity , IREM - Employer , Raj Bhar Engineering - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 174
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Bangladesh , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Türkiye , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported ) , Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Freedom of Movement , Wage Theft , Access to Non-Judicial Remedy , Contract Substitution , Human Trafficking , Right to MarryResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Borealis and IREM provided responses to the Resource Centre. Raj Bhar Engineering did not. The case is currently before the Belgian state and workers were granted Orange Cards - a type of residency permit renewable while the case is under inquiry.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 7 Jun 2023
Location: Poland
Companies
Daeshin Construction - Employer , VFG International - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Philippines , Construction , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Poverty WagesResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Neither company responded to request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
Summary
Date Reported: 7 Jun 2023
Location: Belgium
Companies
BASF - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 58
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 58 - Philippines , Manufacturing: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Failing to renew visasResponse
Response sought: Yes, by The Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: BASF responded to the Resource Centre's request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
In July 2022, Belgian police discovered 174 illegally employed workers at a factory owned by Borealis, an Austrian multinational and chemical manufacturer. Most of the workers were Turkish and Bangladeshi, 65 were Filipino…
…the Filipinos were severely underpaid, earning €8.50 (P512) an hour…
… The company denies any wrongdoing and blames the Italian manpower agency and subcontractor IREM group…
…the Filipinos were recruited to work in Belgium by IREM and another subcontractor, Raj Bhar Engineering…
…The workers, owed months of back-pay for the legally-mandated wages of around €8500 (P517,556), are at risk of being forgotten…
When asked who his previous employers were, he pointed to the printed logo on the jacket – it said Daeshin Construction plant…
A mere US$2.7 (P149) an hour on 10-hour shifts was not the income he hoped for, especially after paying an P80,000 placement fee to recruitment agency VFG International…
Many of the workers were recruited through Raj Bhar Engineering…On its website, the company lists IREM SPA and two other IREM group subsidiaries as partners.
The Filipino and Bangladeshi workers point to the IREM group as the main culprit…
A month after the Borealis scandal…police discovered 58 Filipino workers illegally employed by German chemical producer BASF…