Spanish supplier El Ciruelo has hit back against embarrassing newspaper headlines claiming that female workers were forced to wear signs around their necks when they needed to use the toilet.
Articles in the Daily Mail, Telegraph and Metro this morning claimed workers at the company’s fruit packing plant in Murcia had to wear plastic signs saying they needed to go to the toilet, while there was no such requirement for men. Some women drank less water in stifling conditions to avoid the humiliation of wearing the signs, the articles claimed.
It is understood the situation was brought to the public’s attention by two disgruntled workers who were dismissed as it was the end of the harvest.
However in a strongly worded statement El Ciruelo vehemently denied the accusations, stating that the company only devised a provisional system to ensure workers did not have to queue for toilets, which were not visible from the working area. This involved the workers taking cards to make clear how many toilets were free at any given time. Workers did not have to wear the cards around their necks, El Ciruelo insisted, and the system has now been replaced with a series of lights similar to those found on planes or trains.
The allegations against El Ciruelo were made by the trade union UGT. Workers representing the CCOO and USO unions also issued a statement in which they insisted that “none of the systems have in any way been disrespectful of workers and none of the workers have ever complained about the system” to them.
They added: “The Committee has never received a complaint from any worker regarding any pressure or recommendations to avoid pregnancy or to avoid using the rest room. They also have no knowledge of any worker who has felt humiliated, insulted or discriminated for being female.”
El Ciruelo is considering legal action against individuals and the media, who it claimed published an inaccurate version of events and failed to ask it for a statement.
