Filipino workers in the Netherlands accuse Amsterdam luxury gym of exploitation

Filipino and Indonesian workers in an Amsterdam luxury gym have filed a complaint against their employer over alleged harsh working conditions.

In a report by Het Parool, a daily newspaper in the Netherlands, 11 workers have accused Saints & Stars of forcing them to work 17 hours a day and sharing beds with strangers.

They also alleged that they were asked to surrender their passports while still not receiving their promised work visa. The labour inspectorate said that they found 23 undocumented workers at the gym chain.

According to their GoFundMe page, the workers also supposedly received threatening messages from their employer, such as, "No excuses like I have rights" and "If we get any complaints about cleaning over the next two months, no one will be paid at all for the entire month."

Tom Moos, the CEO of Saints & Stars, released a statement in response in late July. 

"No one should ever be subjected to unsafe, exploitative, or degrading working conditions, not here, not anywhere. These accounts stand in direct opposition to the values we uphold. Any form of mistreatment under the Saints & Stars name is entirely unacceptable to us," he wrote.

The company also said it would cooperate with the ongoing investigation by the Dutch Labour Authority and that it has suspended the management team responsible for cleaning operations.