It is nearing completion, with the hearing of the last witnesses. A construction company from Barcelos is on trial in Braga for human trafficking, criminal association and theft.
The complaint came from three former workers, hired for a job in Côte d’Ivoire, who say they worked without receiving the full salary, without medical support in case of illness and with insufficient food. And some slept on a mattress on the floor.
Cofrepower – Construção Civil, – which, meanwhile, filed for insolvency – the owner, Paulo Fernandes, the person in charge, José Carlos Ferreira, the civil engineer, Hugo Fernandes and two other defendants, employees, deny the crimes, attributing the difficulties to reality of the African country.
In 2015, the firm hired several groups of workers, more than 30 in total, about 20 of whom are prosecution witnesses.
In the last session of the trial, one of the plaintiffs, who requested anonymity for “fearing reprisals”, reported to O MINHO that he became ill with malaria and that, on the advice of an African doctor, had to travel alone to Portugal, despite being very weak. . He was admitted to a clinic on site, and he was the one who paid for the medical expenses.
The trip, with a stopover in Morocco, lasted 24 hours, a period in which he hardly ate. “He was almost dying”, he lamented. In Morocco, he feared that he would be compulsorily interned because of the illness he had and given that the local health authorities could suspect that he was Ebola.
Then, at Lisbon airport, no one from the company was – contrary to what was promised – waiting for him. He called the supervisor and no one answered. Without money, very weak and desperate, he was lucky to find a charitable person who took him to the truck to the North and lent him 30 euros to eat anything. on arrival in Porto he was immediately admitted to the hospital.
One meal a day
He said that, in Côte d’Ivoire, food consisted of one meal a day, dinner, and that lunch was half a baguette with a slice of ham and another of cheese. Working hours started at 07:00 and ended at 17:00. And that he had to work despite claiming to be sick.
He also said that he owed him money, and they never did the math. The judge-president asked him if his passport had been taken from him, remembering that alternate homeowners did it to foreign citizens, but the complainant said that he always had it with him. At stake is the alleged theft of a passport from one of the workers. The return ticket was with the managers.
Then, another worker, a witness in the case, told the Court that he became seriously ill, with an infection in his arm and in danger of having to be cut off, and the same thing happened: he came to Lisbon and the boss and the supervisor left us alone at the airport. Arriving in Porto, he was immediately admitted to the Gaia hospital, under penalty of amputation.
The picture you reported is identical: little food, brackish water, housing with few conditions and no payment. He says, showing him, that he was given a bank document, that he accepted and that it was to receive the 1,500 euros that he owed him: “I arrived at the bank and was ridiculous, since it was worthless”. Only, when he received it, he signed a paper in which he claimed to have received everything he owed him.
In both cases, there are complaints about threats against the contractors and various pressures such as putting them “away from home”.
Company denies crimes
In the investigation, and during the trial, in which it is defended by the company CH Advogados, of Barcelos, the construction company, and the other defendants, they deny the accusations made against it, saying that, as is normal in an African country, there are several difficulties, both in terms of access to products and medical care. But that no one was left without support.
Ensures that employees received the agreed salary, that contracts were for three months, due to visa limitations, and that, on average, two thousand euros were paid clean to each one. They also had a guaranteed return trip, as they were bought a return ticket. They deny any pressure or intimidating attitudes on employees, and guarantee that they have never removed their passport from anyone. They also state that they paid for everything they had hired.
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