Customs controls in Lower Franconia: glass fiber projects under the magnifying glass

Customs controls in Lower Franconia: glass fiber projects under the magnifying glass

Bamberg / Schweinfurt / Würzburg - This week, the main customs office in Schweinfurt carried out comprehensive controls on construction sites that serve to lay fiber optic cables. 89 civil servants were active in these regular checks, which took place in all of Upper Franconia and parts of Upper Franconia. 16 construction sites were visited and 109 employees were interviewed about their employment relationship. The motivation behind these controls primarily lies in ensuring compliance with social security regulations and the legal working conditions for everyone involved on these construction sites.

A major goal of this controls is to combat undeclared work and illegal employment, especially in the construction industry, which is often shaped by foreign workers. In particular, care was taken to ensure whether the workers had the necessary residence permits and whether the legal requirements, such as the payment of the minimum wage, were met. The attention of customs is on the guarantee of fair working conditions, both for those employees here and for companies that adhere to the legal framework.

violations and investigations

The results of the controls are alarming. In the short time of the reviews, more than 30 investigations were initiated. The following findings were shown in detail:

• In eight cases, there is suspicion that wages have been withheld or misappropriated.
• In 24 cases, foreign workers were found without the necessary residence permits.
• A case concerned the violation of the statutory minimum wage.

A particularly sensational incident was the arrest of a person looking for an arrest warrant. This person was arrested and handed over to the responsible police.

The emergency services are now faced with the challenge of compensating for the data collected on site with the wages and financial documents of the companies and making further research. The bureaucracy jungle, in which many companies operate, is not only examined for its legality, but also for fairness towards the competition.

The role of customs in society

The controls of the customs are not just a step to combat control violations, but also a contribution to ensuring the overall system of social security. Through their testing and investigative procedures, customs authorities help to protect social systems and government income. Your interventions are even a year -round preventive measure that aims to uncover grievances in various industries at an early stage.

This means that customs is not only a control instance, but also a guarantee for fair competition in the labor market. At a time when companies have to calculate very closely, violations of labor and social laws can harm Fair Play in the construction system. The upcoming investigations will show how the situation on the fiber optic construction sites will develop and which measures must ultimately be taken.