Rhodes: the scandal around the fact that the waiter serves sun loungers standing in the sea

Rhodes Island: At a beach bar, a waiter carries a tray of snacks and enters waist-high into the water to serve customers on platforms built over the sea. Everything seemed fine, but this video caused a wave of outrage, which led to fines and the intervention of two ministers.

As you can see in the footage, while beach bar patrons are having fun on the offshore platforms, surrounded by the soft whisper of the waves and the blue of the South Aegean, the young waiter struggles to navigate the rather deep spot and keep Club Sadwich dry. According to users of Greek social networks, “the waiter serving spoiled sun worshipers on floating platforms, working in a slave environment.

Ρε σεις ; Που ζούμε; Άμεση παρέμβαση από την κυβέρνηση τώρα #Ρόδος pic.twitter.com/5PANl4QPEs

— Daskalakis Manolis (@emdaskalakis) July 1, 2023

Outraged Greeks lashed out at the owner of a beach bar in Agia Marina for forcing employees to work in “undignified conditions”, including spending all day or shifts in wet clothes, and called for union protection. The minister will intervene. Many also questioned whether sun loungers located in the water were legal and called for the intervention of the Port Authority of Rhodes.

What’s next… The Minister of Labor concluded that there is no law prohibiting such working conditionsand the port administration fined beach bar owner for illegal occupation of coastal territory in the sea zone with overlying structures after an inspection commissioned by the Ministry of Shipping and Islands Policy. According to the port authority, similar violations were identified during previous inspections on June 16 and 21, and charges were filed, according to the state news agency. amna.

Despite the accusations, business continued to operate as usual as early as July 2, when repeated fines were imposed. However, the owner claimed that the Coast Guard carried out an inspection and no violations were found (until the ministry intervened). He also claimed that the “diving waiter” was wearing waterproof clothing.

Ο ιδιοκτήτης της επιχείρησης στη Ρόδο, σε σημερινό δημοσίευμα στην iefimerida, ισχυρίζεται ότι "έλεγχοι έχουν γίνει από το λιμενικό και δεν βρήκαν καμία παράβαση στη νομοθεσία".

📸: UGC #Ρόδος pic.twitter.com/8FnwVLYJgn

— Daphne Tolis (@daphnetoli) July 2, 2023

When the media called the owner of the beach bar to clarify the situation, he stated that “a waiter earns €3,000 a month plus €200 a day in tips”. A few hours later, the bar workers, seasonal workers, that is, young people in their majority, issued a joint statement that they were happy with everything and “Not work in slave conditions.

https://twitter.com/mariad0s/status/1675214895502041088

Meanwhile, other social media users have posted photos of Rhodes showing tavern patrons sitting at tables in the water, enjoying their meals.

Αν αποσυνθέσεις το μπιτσόμπαρο στη Ρόδο, θα δεις σου απομένουν πελατειακές σχέσεις, καταπάτηση, μίζα, αρπαχτή, ασυδοσία, ακραίες ανισότητες, φοροδιαφυγή, εισφοροδιαφυγή, μπραβιλίκι, εκμετάλλευση, νεοπλουτισμό, βλαχιά, περιβαλλοντική καταστροφή.
Δηλαδή ένα Μένουμε Ευρώπη #Ροδος

— Synetos Realistis (@sinetosrealisti) July 2, 2023

“If you dismantle a beach bar in Rhodes, you are left with clientelism, encroachment, kickbacks, extortion, dishonesty, extreme inequality, tax evasion, mobbing, exploitation, neoenrichment, stupidity, environmental destruction. In other words, we stay in Europe #Rhodes.”

In fact, entrepreneurial owners of beach bars and taverns now have a choice: either work for the client and try to improve and diversify the service in this way, or work according to the rules set by the Internet community.

What do you think about this problem? Is it worth pleasing customers or is it necessary to protect the working conditions of workers (perhaps with a significant reduction in wages)?

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