Reports have surfaced alleging severe exploitation of cleaning staff in restroom facilities, with workers facing grueling hours, meager pay, and harsh conditions under subcontracting arrangements.

Cleaning staff employed to maintain restroom facilities at highway service stations have come forward with claims of exploitation, including 12-hour workdays, seven days a week, for wages as low as five euros per hour. These conditions fall far below the legal minimum wage for building cleaners, which is set at 15 euros per hour. Workers describe being treated inhumanely, with one individual stating they are discarded like ‘useless objects’ after enduring relentless labor.

Investigations reveal that many of these workers are employed through subcontractors rather than directly by the restroom management companies. One worker, identified as Anton, shared his experience of working under such conditions for over a year. Living in employer-provided housing, he fears losing his accommodation and ending up homeless if he stops working. Legal experts have reviewed these arrangements and suggest they may constitute fraudulent employment practices on a large scale.

Further scrutiny has uncovered similar exploitation in other sectors, including shopping center restroom cleaning operations. A businessman was recently convicted for offenses including tax evasion and human trafficking, linked to the exploitation of hundreds of workers in restroom facilities nationwide. Authorities estimate the financial damage from these practices exceeds ten million euros, highlighting the widespread nature of labor abuse in this industry.