Workers Building Europe’s Data Centres Face Burns, Rat Infestation and Wage Theft

Workers building data centres for Google, Microsoft and Amazon across Europe have suffered serious injuries, endured degrading living conditions – including rat-infested housing – and been denied wages, Investigate Europe has revealed.

One electrical tester was left with electrical burns on 12% of his body after performing an overtime task without safety equipment at a Google data centre site in Belgium. His burns are still so severe he can barely stand being touched, he told reporters. No fines or sanctions are known to have been issued.

At a Microsoft development in Sweden, Romanian workers employed by a subcontractor described overcrowded accommodation infested with rats, broken ventilation and poor heating. 

One diabetic worker had his toe amputated after his feet reportedly lost circulation in the inadequate work boots issued by the contractor, while others contracted tuberculosis. 

Workers also alleged that managers “rule on mental terror” and subject them to a football-style ‘yellow card’ and ‘red card’ disciplinary system, with ‘carded’ workers interrogated by managers for hours. 

“We are forced to sit in a room and confess things we had not done,” one worker said. 

Workers said they were also threatened with pay reductions if they failed to fill out twice-weekly site reports for managers.

People hired by contractors in Sweden shared payslips showing they had worked up to 60 hours a week with no overtime pay, in an apparent violation of Swedish labour law. A Swedish union said migrant labourers at one site are paid up to 30% less than their Swedish colleagues. They also said that one contractor had withheld nearly 10m krona (£792,000) in wages from 78 workers. 

Johan Danielsson, the European Parliament’s rapporteur responsible for regulating subcontracting chains, said in a recent report: “If people let these big American multinationals come here and import their anti-union business models, then it becomes a problem. Because behind the fence they are abusing workers, and they don’t want anyone to know it.”

A spokesperson for Google said: “Our supplier code of conduct and contracts require all suppliers to comply with local labour laws and uphold safe, healthy working conditions. We maintain active dialogue with union leaders and trade groups, and are committed to providing transparent information about our workplace.”

A Microsoft spokesperson said: “Microsoft is committed to ensuring that everyone working on its behalf is treated fairly, in line with Swedish labour law and our Supplier Code of Conduct. In our data centre construction, we work with contractors and suppliers, with whom we set clear requirements on health and safety, working conditions, and the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “We expect suppliers of goods and services for Amazon to adhere to our supply chain standards…. informed by leading international standards and frameworks developed by the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation.”