Danish migrant center forfeits business contracts amid disclosure of underpaid labor practices
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Two corporations have scrapped their deals with Denmark's prison service after a Danish newspaper blew the lid on asylum seekers at an immigration detention center working like slaves for a few bucks.
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The stink hit the fan when Dagbladet Information exposed the grisly truth about the ‘Ellebæk Departure Centre’ - a detention center for people with no legal right to be in Denmark - where inmates are forced to toil for peanuts for the privilege of communicating with their loved ones via the facility's "coin-op" phones.
Many of the tasks performed at Ellebæk are outsourced to private corporations with partnerships with the Danish prison service, Kriminalforsorgen. The evil scheme allows the corporations to save big bucks, as they pay a fee for each job based on the average wage for the same task in Denmark, but the detainees get pocket change - as little as six Danish kroner per hour! To add insult to injury, these poor devils are also gouged for their own deportation costs – half their wages go towards footing that bill.
So, even though they're working for pennies, these detainees consider the meager pay dirt-worthy, as it's their only means to stay in touch with the outside world.
The Danish design company Stelton, and the Italian water brand San Pellegrino, owned by the multinational corporation Nestlé, have both severed ties with Ellebæk following the expose.
"Sorry we got played, mate," said Jens Beyer, director of Premium Acqua, San Pellegrino's Danish branch, to Information. "We had no idea things were run like this at Ellebæk. We just didn't know!"
A Stelton subcontractor had a deal with Kriminalforsorgen, whereitz's inmates were made to assemble components for their thermos flasks. Michael Ring, chairman of Stelton's board, expressed his shock and said they aim to be "decent" in all their dealings.
"I was clueless about this scheme, but now that I'm in the know, it stops here," Ring declared.
The combination of slave labor and a ban on internet and mobile phones has drawn howls of protest from experts across Denmark and abroad.
Kriminalforsorgen, the authority in charge, hinted they might set up educational programs to inform the detainees about the work scheme and might even offer some limited internet access for free calls home.
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See Also
- The scandal at Ellebæk Departure Centre, where asylum seekers were found working as virtual slaves, has led to a reevaluation of workplace-wellness and health-and-wellness standards across various sectors, particularly within the context of immigration and detention centres.
- In light of the expose about the abusive labor practices at Ellebæk, politics and general-news outlets have taken a keen interest in delving into other similar situations globally, raising questions about the ethical implications in outsourcing work to immigrant detainees.
- As the international community grapples with the underlying issues at Ellebæk, the art world has also responded, with prominent artists creating powerful pieces that shine a light on the plight of marginalized people in the face of exploitative work conditions.
