Foreign workers say they were paid less than $2 an hour to build a new US Consulate in Milan

MILAN — Foreign workers building the $350 million American Consulate in Milan are being paid less than $2 an hour after being promised fair wages, according to Associated Press interviews with five former employees and a review of employment letters and pay stubs.

Italian prosecutors are investigating Montgomery, Alabama-based Caddell Construction, a major builder of U.S. diplomatic missions. Two of its executives in Italy were arrested this month on suspicion of labor exploitation, one boarded a plane to leave the country and the other was planning to escape, prosecutors said.

The investigation is being led by prosecutor Paolo Storari, who also leads investigations into sweatshops that supply luxury brands. So far, only Caddell has been targeted, not its subcontractors.

The consular investigation was launched about six months ago and involved approximately 70 workers, mostly from India. Prosecutors allege Caddell illegally deducted room and board from wages and forced them to work 10 hours a day, six days a week. Some were paid as little as 500 euros a month after room and board were deducted, prosecutors said. According to the Cassa Edile social welfare fund, the minimum wage for construction workers in Milan starts at 13.39 euros per hour.

Caddell and the US State Department said they were investigating the allegations and cooperating with Italian authorities.

The consulate project is part of a construction boom in Milan over the past two decades that has modernized the skyline of Italy’s fashion and financial capital and raised its international profile.

He spoke to four workers from Kenya and one from India at a union headquarters where authorities were organizing aid, including legal aid and housing. The workers submitted the documents and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation and to protect the ongoing investigation.

The Kenyan workers said they were hired by Caddell after working on a multimillion-dollar extension of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Two of these showed employment letters signed by a company representative on Caddell stationery, promising salaries in excess of €25,000 per year.

They said they were not paid anything close to that and were threatened by human resources personnel on site after questioning management.

“When you go to the office to ask any questions, you are told: ‘You either work or you are repatriated. This is the amount you have to be paid,'” said a Kenyan electrician. He added that he was paid only 800 euros a month after being promised 2,300 euros.

Another Kenyan electrician said he was threatened with defamation after presenting an AI summary of Italian labor law and was told that the 25,000 euros in the employment letter was for “visa purposes” and not a promise of payment.

The State Department said it was investigating the allegations made by prosecutors and that U.S. law enforcement was working with Italian authorities.

“The US government does not tolerate labor exploitation,” the department said in a statement.

Caddell said it was “fully cooperating” with Italian authorities and conducting its “own comprehensive investigation into this matter to ensure that all our global subcontractors and consultancies comply with all labor standards and legal requirements.”

“Caddell is committed to treating and paying workers fairly. We will continue to work in good faith with authorities to ensure the welfare of workers on this important project,” the company said in a statement.

More than a decade ago, Caddell paid him millions to settle allegations that the U.S. government had made false claims to benefit from government grants. Caddell did not respond to a request for comment on this case.

All five workers, whose ages ranged from their late 20s to early 50s, said they were fired without cause this year. One of them said he returned from visiting family in Kenya to find he no longer had a job or a place to stay.

Four of the workers were trained electricians; There was also the Indian worker, whose CV showed that he had more than a decade of experience in other companies in the Persian Gulf countries.

He said the Indian worker was promised a monthly salary of 2,500 euros. Instead he had a payslip showing his actual salary was around 500 euros a month. It stated that his hourly wage was 1.55 euros.

Kenyans said they reached out to authorities after learning about the investigation.

“I believe in justice,” one said. “The workers there should not be afraid either, they should come and talk.”

Two said they were currently sleeping in parks, and one said they were staying with friends. One said he was offered a job at a Caddell facility in another country but rejected it after treatment in Milan.

Caddell became a leader in establishing U.S. diplomatic missions in 1998, when the State Department launched a major security upgrade after bombings at U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya killed more than 250 people.

“Few contractors can meet the stringent requirements to even bid on the safe work required for diplomatic facilities projects,” Caddell said on its website, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023. At this point, the firm counted 39 projects worth $7.4 billion in its embassy portfolio. It has since added four projects.

The Milan consulate campus is being built on 10 acres of land on a former shooting range. The current US Consulate is located in a high-rise building designed by famous Italian architect Gio Ponti.

Plans for the campus called for approximately 500 “local workers,” according to the U.S. State Department. The project includes the restoration of a century-old building, as well as a five-story consulate building, restored gardens, a reflecting pool and a large outdoor gathering area.

The work continues under the supervision of the courthouse. Room and board fees are no longer deducted from workers. It is limited to 45 hours and guaranteed two days off per week.

The pay slips submitted by the workers included wages of 510 euros per month for accommodation and over 300 euros for food. However, these deductions make up only a part of the difference between promised wages and actual wages.

Labor representative Laura Malguzzi, who represents construction workers at the Fillea Cgil union federation, said the unions intend to seek workers’ compensation, at least to compensate for what they have earned “through hard work and dedication”.

Malguzzi said he was surprised that pay stubs submitted by workers appeared to document the alleged exploitation. Union experts are still examining documents that do not meet Italian standards and have not been able to verify their origin.

“There was probably an absolute certainty in their minds that they were untouchable,” Malguzzi said.

Kenyan workers said they reluctantly accepted the $200 monthly salary in Nairobi, where unemployment is widespread. But they expected better from a US company operating in Europe.

“They can hire you and you’ll hit the ground running,” one employee said of the company. “Because you’re poor, you have nothing. And there’s nothing you can do.”

This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.