Hello,

Below you will find what I think could be a safety issue.

We were sent 12 people by our company to work abroad. When we were hired, we were told that there would be 2 workers in the room and I thought it was separate beds, which would be logical.

Eh ... surprise, it wasn't like that, but worse, a matrimonial bed for 2 married men with children at home.

You realize that after 10-12 hours of working together, even though you wash, it's still not ok that you don't know what can happen at night and we all need a little discretion, it's shameful and embarrassing happening to someone something like that.

I made complaints, I kept telling them this is not OK but nothing was solved because as they said something with the lack of budget, that better accomodation can't be found and all kinds of lies.

I don't know if this can be related to HSE at work with the fact that we all have diseases that we can transmit (you don't know what each one has) or that CORONA can be transmitted, or with the fact that you don't rest well at night and because of fatigue due to the accommodation conditions, a work accident can happen during the day.

Maybe you know?!

Now the worst part is that one night, my "bedmate", unwittingly, touched me on the genitals, how he turned from sleep, I do not know exactly how, but instinctively, I slapped him with a palm / fist in the face.

In the end we reconciled and continued our sleep to be rested for another hard day of work, only it was not rest at all for me since I am in this situation of sleeping with another totally foreign man in bed.

For now, the situation in the world and the field in which I work does not find much work during this period, so I will have to survive like that for myself and my wife and children.

But I decided not to leave things like that.

That's why I ask your opinion, what can I do?

Could I sue them for inappropriate working conditions?

Could a lawyer help me make a case for this and win because of the traumatic event of that evening?

Can we also claim moral damages and in what amount?

Does anyone who works in the field of Occupational Safety and Health know if this incident can be linked to any law ?

Does anyone working in the field of OSH thinks that my employer is endangering my life through this practice?

And if so, what law does this specify and in what context?Could this situation be related to Occupational safety and health?

I mention that I work in the field of construction and I work at height, being very dangerous for us sometimes.

Do you a think a third party e.g. like a safety officer, a client representative can do something about this?

What do you think I could do for the company I work to learn their lessons?

What do you think about this subject?

We can laugh on this subject and make jokes but also find solutions.

Has anyone had this happen to him?

Thanks!

Constantin to help any answer where have you arrived from (from your surname I am guessing Romania or Moldova) and where in the world are you currently working?

Typically most members on this forum consider and respond with consideration to UK law - your post language would indicate you may be elsewhere in the world likely influenced by the USA.

Living arrangements are typically beyond the normal scope of UK legislation (where we consider work activity excepting "live in" carers) however what you describe would fall foul of UK anti-slavery legislation.

Constantin

A lot of commonality between the occupational health and safety legislation in the UK and Romania (as of course Germany) as a result of a requirement for each Member State to transpose the requirements of the "Framework Directive" and its various "daughters" including the Temporary or Mobile Construction Sites Directive (TMCSD)

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:01992L0057-20070627 

Annex IV of TMCSD defines some minimum standards for "accommodation" but doesn't go into the sort of detail that would apply to the scenario you describe.

At this time, various Member States have set their own rules to slow the spread of Covid-19. I don't know what rules are in place in Germany, but expecting workers from different households to share the same bed (even if at different times) would be unlikely to meet with whatever Physical Distancing measures have been prescribed in Germany (I guess).

However, I also guess that you probably haven't got trade union representation and this might be a case of "take it or leave it".

Whether the circumstances you describe would meet a test of slave labour would be very dependent on local legislation.

Good luck, Peter

As Kim suggests, I don't consider this to really be a H&S question. Had that occurred to me, the following morning (or as soon afterwards) I would have booked an appointment with a lawyer ( and informed the company as to the reason for my impending absence). Absolutely not acceptable.

There is more here about this https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/severe-labour-exploitation-country_de.pdf

The paper is 64 pages long but the summary at the front seem to indicate that although there are laws against this sort of exploitation, enforcement is fragmentary with different agencies in different states( Lander) taking a different approach.