Why London and Dublin are full of Spanish waitresses

Trevor @ Wednesday June 11th 2008 13:39

Someone just sent me this job ad to illustrate the kind of shite people suffer in Barcelona. It’s a six month contract in a city centre branch of a chain of cafĂ©s. The morning shift is Mon-Sun 06:00-15:00 with alternating Sat and Sunday free, which adds up to 54 antisocial hours a week (the EU Working Time Directive, to which Spain subscribed, says 48 max), slightly more than 231 hours in an average month, at a gross rate of €4/hour. That’s not even enough to pay the average monthly flat rent in Barcelona, which last summer was €811, never mind eat. Meanwhile Larry Kovaks says that infant Romanian gypsy beggars are making €67/hour, tax- and contributions-free.

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