A video of a waiter wading above his waist into the water to serve customers has gone viral in Greece and has led to a chorus of criticism over labor rights in the country.
The video shows a young waiter holding a tray in his hand almost forced to swim in order to serve customers of the beach bar in Agia Marina, Rhodes who were sitting on floating structures in the sea.
The beach of Agia Marina is a popular resort and is located on the northeast coast of the Greek island, about 4 km south of the capital city of Rhodes.
“Era of slavery is over,” minister says about the waiter in Greece
Minister of Labor, Adonis Georgiadis condemned the beach bar which allowed such a practice.
“The incident, as caught on camera, is disgusting. We should all understand that the era of slavery is over, and workers are not slaves. Workers are people with respected rights and we are here to ensure their rights. And any businessman who pretends to forget it will suffer the consequences of the law without any mercy.”
“I want to be clear. I want us to have tourism, all under the condition of full respect for workers’ rights”, Georgiadis stressed.
The business was fined for illegally occupying space within the sea area with overlying constructions, following an inspection ordered by the shipping and island policy ministry.
Speaking on MEGA TV, the owner of the beach bar said that it was an “isolated incident” posted on social media by a competitor.
He added that the young waiter, who has been employed in his business for the last five years has not complained. He gets 3,000 euros a month to do his job, he stressed.
“His suit is waterproof, but I know the video was posted by a fake competitor profile who wanted to harm me and tarnish my business. The Coast Guard conducted a number of inspections on my property and found nothing illegal,” he maintained.
“The inspectors asked the workers if I force them to go into the sea and they told them that they do it for a better tip,” he added.
Employees back business owner
Employees issued a statement backing their boss and refuting claims of medieval working conditions.
“The incident that was caught on camera is not representative,” they said. “We are aware that there are competent authorities so we can stand up for our rights if necessary…We categorically state that our working conditions are not ‘medieval’, as some people are saying,” the statement reads.
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