The Thursday night raid in Marof Trade, a business unit of wood processing company Gozdno gospodarstvo Postojna (GGP), and connected companies Floles and Poslovni sistem Veles, with participation of more than 50 tax inspectors with police support disclosed a number of severe violations at employment of foreigners. Approximately 200 foreign workers are employed there, and some 60 were working in the night shift that day. The raid showed that some of them are being treated literally as slaves.

Many workers have no insurance, they are paid cash, and some get no more than 150 euros per month which means they don't even earn enough to travel home; some don't even know who they work for. Goran Lukić from the Counselling Office for Migrants was today appalled by all that, but we should be especially ashamed because this has been going on for more than 15 years. The problem is also the fact that the exploited workers are afraid, and refuse to be exposed. Lukić calls on them to come to their office: "They should come to us so that we can go through all the documents and see how to proceed, but most certainly criminal charges must be made, and Labour Inspectorate, prosecution office, and judiciary involved."

The established violations with the element of slavery demand actions from judicial bodies as well. "So that they perhaps don't try to hide behind some questions regarding intent or something similar," Lukić stood firm.

There must come an end to that
Foreign employers who spread their tentacles to other parts of Slovenia and even abroad by closing companies and opening new ones are skilful in hiding, as they don't appear in Ajpes and other official documents. But they are quite well known within the local surroundings. "But I think this story must end once and for all, and concrete personal responsibility must be established. And in the end – prison sentences pronounced," Lukić warned.

Marko Škrlj, Sabrina Mulec, Radio Slovenija
Translated by G. K.