129 workers saved from SK plant in Mexico
Print Edition
MEXICAN authorities have rescued 129 workers, including six children, who said they were exploited and physically and sexually abused at a garment factory run by South Koreans.
Four South Korean nationals have been handed over to prosecutors in the western state of Jalisco after workers identified them as the owners or managers of the company named Yes International, the National Migration Institute (INM) said.
Authorities raided the company in the town of Zapopan on Wednesday after receiving an anonymous tip, according to INM coordinator Ardelio Vargas Fosado.
He described the South Koreans as a “gang of suspected human traffickers.”
Officials rescued 121 women and eight men, including six minors who were 16 and 17 years old.
The workers told prosecutors that they were “victims of physical and sexual abuse, as well as threats, psychological harm and grueling work days,” Vargas Fosado said.
Jalisco’s chief prosecutor, Luis Carlos Najera, said authorities are investigating whether child abuse and sexual crimes were committed.
The employees toiled in “unsanitary” conditions, with pollutants in their place of work, and the material they handled posed a fire hazard while the company had no fire safety equipment, said Victor Manuel Torres Moreno, a labor ministry official.
Officials also said the employees endured verbal abuse; lacked contracts; worked more than the legal eight hours per day; only had 15-minute lunches instead of half an hour; were not paid for overtime; and were not given health benefits.
The minors were handed over to their parents following the operation, but authorities are also checking their family surroundings.
Other workers were given psychological assistance.
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