Although not open yet, Tesla’s Gigafactory near Berlin is the focus of much scrutiny. German authorities are now probing alleged violations of labor laws at the construction site.
According to Reuters, the State Office for Occupational Safety is investigating whether minimum wages are being paid and whether rules on working hours and conditions for workers’ housing are being respected by Tesla.
Business Insider spoke to Polish construction workers employed at the site. They said (and the outlet confirmed) they were being 40 zlotys per hour ($10.51 USD), or the equivalent of €8.70, which is less than the German minimum wage.
Read More: Tesla Moves Berlin Gigafactory Deadline By Six Months, Will Start Production In January 2022
The workers are also being kept in hostels with hundreds of others.
“We sometimes sleep with up to 3 men in the room,” a worker said. Unsurprisingly, a major coronavirus outbreak was reported. The site now features a test center at the front.
Last week, Business Insider also reported that Germany’s environmental watchdogs were taking a look at the site for potentially installing pipes that would have allowed industrial wastewater to leak into local drinking water.
“If construction is carried out in secret here without the necessary permits, then that says a lot about the company Tesla,” Rüdiger Nebelsieck, a lawyer, told the outlet. “It becomes clear how the US carmaker is complying with European practices to comply with the law and due process.”
When it started work on the plant, Tesla had promised that it would open on July 1, 2021. That figure has now been pushed back by at least six months.
