Barcelona deny allegations of worker exploitation at Camp Nou

Barcelona have denied allegations that workers carrying out the renovation of the Spotify Camp Nou are being exploited.

Spanish newspaper El Periodico reported this week that workers are overworked, underpaid and forced to work in deplorable conditions.

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The stadium renovation is being carried out by Limak and Barca vice-president Elena Fort said the Turkish company was not abusing anyone’s rights.

“No, there are categorically no workers who suffer from abuse at work,” Fort told El Periodico in response to the allegations.

“If we had received complaints we would have acted. No complaints have been made to the club. Nor has anything been detected in our internal processes that suggests there is any type of irregularity.

“Barça complies… Well, the [subcontracted] construction companies strictly adhere to regulations. And there is no form of labor exploitation. »

Fort added that there were three “surprise evaluations” of the building inspectors’ work, but only “minor issues” were discovered.

“I think it was due to the height of a fence and some very minor issues which we have now resolved,” she added.

Fort also rejected the claim that some workers are paid less than the minimum wage.

“There are five pay slips [in El Periodico’s investigation] while there were more than 2,000 during the entire execution of the work,” she declared.

“And one thing is that there could be an error in these pay slips. We are reviewing that. But all contracts go through social security.

“Not a single contract that has been concluded is lower than the agreed terms. In construction contracts, by agreement, work is carried out six days a week, maximum 12 hours. [per day]”.

Finally, regarding the allegation that a worker was sleeping outside the Camp Nou for fear of losing his job if he arrived late, Fort said she was not aware of this particular case, but ” we don’t have 2,000 workers sleeping on the streets, which means things are working.”

Work at Camp Nou began a year ago, during the World Cup, and intensified in June after the end of Spain’s domestic season.

Barca have moved to the city’s Olympic Stadium as renovation work progresses, with a return planned for next November, although the new stadium will not be fully finished until 2026.