Indian restaurant chain accused of labor exploitation; Three restaurants raided in NL

The Dutch Labor Inspectorate raided three restaurants in Amsterdam, The Hague, and Almere, as part of an international investigation into labor exploitation by a restaurant chain. The chain involved is the Indian restaurant chain Saravannaa Bhavan, according to AD.

During its raids, the Inspectorate found five people working at the restaurants who weren’t allowed to work in the Netherlands. “Employees may also have been paid too little and had to work too long,” the Inspectorate said. It also found signs of labor exploitation at the location in The Hague.

At The Hague location, the Inspectorate found a mattress in one of the rooms. “It was clear to the inspectors that someone was sleeping and staying here,” the Inspectorate said. “Further investigation will be carried out into whether there may be labor exploitation.”

Inspectors found one person working in The Hague without a work permit, two in Amsterdam, and two in Almere. “It is not excluded that further investigation will reveal even more violations of the Foreign Nationals Employment Act,” the Inspectorate said.

The raids happened at the same time in all three restaurants last week. At the same time, similar raids happened at Sarvanaa Bhavan restaurants in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, and France.