WATCH: After Earning Under €3 An Hour, A Worker Was Attacked By His Boss While Demanding Rest Of His Salary
A refuse-collection worker has spoken out to Lovin Malta after being attacked by his boss and two work colleagues following a dispute over his salary.
The worker, Olandu, said that he worked from 6am to 4/5pm for 21 days, and only earned €250 during this time, or €1.20 an hour, and ended up quitting his job after he couldn’t afford transportation to work.
Olandu said he had informed his boss of his financial situation but no help was given. On his final working day he approached his boss again, telling him that he will have to stop coming to work if he receives no assistance for transportation. His boss told him not to come to work the next day and to collect his pay at the end of the month.
However, when he went to the company’s head office on 1st August to collect the rest of his pay, he was only given €250.
Olandu said he demanded the rest of the money. When he was turned down by his boss, the fight ensued, as caught on camera. He confirmed that he intends to file a police report against his former employer.
However, when the company was approached for their comments, they claimed that the worker had only worked for them for 18 days instead of 21, and had stolen €250 on the day he quit his job.
The company’s owner said that his father saw Olandu steal €250 from his wallet and that he reacted by telling him to keep the €250 and that he will give him another €250 on 1st August. This would total to €500 for a minimum 18 days, or less than €3 per day.
The worker denied ever stealing money from the company.
“I never acted rude in all my days working with them. I was punctual and dedicated because I loved my job and my boss as well, but I guess greed and hatred wouldn’t let him do the right thing,” he said.
The boss insisted that this was not a racially-charged attack, but rather that he retaliated this way because the worker swore at him and offended his mother. This is not seen in the video.