Czech workers hired as 'slaves' in McDonald's branches and bakeries in UK

The international news outlet BBC has reported that Czech citizens were exploited and forced into modern-day slavery in British branches of McDonald’s and a bakery factory. The victims, mainly homeless or drug addicts, were subjected to harsh working conditions, cramped and slum-like living conditions, and had their wages confiscated by a gang for over four years.

The exploitation took place at a McDonald’s branch in the south of England and a bread company with branches around the same area, including in north London. 

The victims, who were employed to supply pastries to major supermarkets, including Tesco, were paid the minimum wage but had almost all their earnings taken away by the Czech gang, the BBC reports.

According to the victims, they were forced to live in cramped and unsanitary conditions, surviving on only a few British pounds a day. The gang also controlled them through violence and fear, confiscating their passports and even kidnapping them back to the UK when they tried to escape.

Pavel, one of the victims who waived his anonymity, shared his harrowing experience with the BBC. While in Czechia, he was promised a well-paid job in Britain and was lured by the opportunity to work legally, but instead, he was subjected to inhumane treatment that left permanent scars on his mental health.

"The damage to my mental health cannot be repaired, it will live with me forever," Pavel said, adding that he was only given a few pounds a day for working 70 hours a week at the McDonald's branch.

The gang's activities were finally exposed in October 2019 when the victims contacted the police in the Czech Republic, who then informed their British counterparts. The police discovered that the gang had been using the victims' earnings to fund their luxurious lifestyles, including buying luxury cars, gold jewelry, and real estate in the Czech Republic.

After examining legal documents from the gang's trial and interviewing three victims, the BBC found that the companies involved in the exploitation had ignored warning signs for years. 

However, the UK arm of McDonald's has since claimed that they have improved their systems to detect potential risks, and the British Retail Consortium has stated that its members will learn from this case.

In 2020, the annual, Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 found that Czechia was one of the "top countries” globally for fighting human trafficking.