Construction workers employed on Olympic construction sites in the host city of Paris have complained of exploitation and have filed lawsuits against their employers. This is reported by the station “France Info”. Accordingly, ten construction workers have filed a lawsuit against four construction companies and eight subcontractors with the labor court in the Paris suburb of Bobigny.
The men, who hail from Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, claim to have been employed for a period of time, including on the construction site of the Olympic village for the coming year, without employment contracts, payslips and holidays. A construction worker named Moussa said about his situation that he wanted to take a day or two off because of knee pain. His boss replied that if he wasn’t there the following Monday, he could pack his things. “France is no better than Qatar,” said Moussa.
The workers are supported by the CGT trade union federation, whose representative Richard Bloch told France Info: “It ends up being worse than anywhere else because there is a political imperative: the sites must be delivered on time. So the companies are using all legal or illegal means to deliver on time.” The labor court is assuming a hearing date at the beginning of October.
IOC has taken note of the report
The International Olympic Committee, whose executive met in Lausanne on Tuesday and Wednesday, has taken note of the report, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said on Wednesday. Asked whether the so-called Strategic Human Rights Framework adopted last year, which says the IOC will look out for workers, would apply if the statements were true, Adams said the organizing committee would have to deal with it first. In-house, “the right people would find out about the situation”.
Alexis Menuge, Paris Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 8 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 6 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 12
The framework states: “The IOC aims to minimize any possible negative impact of the Olympic Games, particularly for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups.” During an inspection at the Olympic Village construction site a year ago, inspectors had already encountered undocumented migrant workers. The Paris Olympics begin on July 26, 2024.
