Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police, have warned of an increase in suspected labour exploitation linked to some small supermarkets and retail shops that open for extended hours or nearly all day.

For Barcelona residents and night-time shoppers who rely on 24-hour food shops, police stress that a long opening schedule is not evidence of wrongdoing in itself. Investigators say, however, that they have identified established exploitation networks in some businesses.

Lluís Moreno, a specialist in human-trafficking investigations in the Mossos' Criminal Investigation Division, said cases had involved workers facing excessively long shifts, pay below the legal minimum and serious employment irregularities, according to reporting by ElCaso.

“Not all these establishments conceal criminal activity,” Moreno said, while investigators had detected established exploitation networks in some businesses.

Workers can be dependent on employers for work and housing

Police say people affected are often in a highly vulnerable position. Some may not know their employment rights, may not speak Catalan or Spanish, or may be financially dependent on those running the business.

  • Some workers may have debts from travelling to Catalonia.
  • Others may depend on an employer for a job, accommodation or documents.
  • Investigators say family, community and financial ties can make it easier to control workers.

In several cases examined by Mossos, those responsible for businesses and the people allegedly exploited were Pakistani nationals or people from other Asian countries, ElCaso reported. The police warning does not identify individual shops or brands.

Earlier Barcelona operation found 86 workers

The concern follows earlier enforcement action in Barcelona. In a joint operation involving Policía Nacional, Spain's national police, and the Catalan Labour Inspectorate, investigators dismantled a group accused of exploiting Pakistani citizens working in Condis-franchise supermarkets, El País reported in November 2021.

That operation identified 86 workers, including some under 18. Forty-three were not documented, while officers searched 14 supermarkets and two warehouses, according to the report.

The franchise owners received a €729,370 sanction. None of the supermarkets was closed.

Reported by Source Text Link, Kirana Mostert, Guillem RS, Alfonso L. Congostrina, Alberto Garzón Espinosa, Alessio Ghirlanda, elmundo.es, Por Newsroom Infobae Seguir, Cesc Maideu, larazon.es, barna.news, europapress.es, Sofía Díaz, Olive Press News Spain.