Romania: Bangladeshi migrant worker allegedly charged recruitment fees & subjected to contract substitution, placed at Prebet's cement factory instead of Soaca Expedition, incl. cos. comments
"Migrant Workers in Romania: Dreams of Freedom Exploited for Profit"
...Rafi* dreamed of…escaping ..his native Bangladesh.
...selling land and borrowing from relatives to raise the more than 10,000 euros he needed to secure a job with a transport company called Soaca Expedition, including 8,000 euros commission charged by the Bangladeshi recruitment agency and the 700-800 euros he spent on travelling to India to apply for a visa at the Romanian embassy.
Rafi landed in Bucharest in July 2024…
There was no sign of Soaca Expedition, however. Instead, Rafi was told he would be working for a cement manufacturer called Prebet and put in touch with another recruitment agency, this time Romanian.
“They told us we had to work more than 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with only half a day off,” he said. “And they demanded our passports.”...
…there were several dozen other migrant workers. Some told him they had been there for more than a year without any legal status, earning 400 euros a month. Rafi said their passports had been taken away...
Prebet...did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The Bangladeshi recruitment agency in Rafi’s case, GEIS, said its role was only to process the visa request and that its responsibilities ended when the workers arrived in Romania.
…Soaca Expedition, the company listed on Rafi’s work permit as his Romanian employer, initially said the company does not hire workers from Asia...