Carlos FresnedaLondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Monday, February 26, 2024-01:51

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Gabriela Rodríguez

couldn't imagine how indigestible that tuna sandwich was going to be... "I wasn't even hungry. I had already eaten, but I saw it among the leftovers from a meeting at the law office where I was cleaning and I said to myself: ' I keep it in the fridge and eat it in the afternoon.’

If I left it on the tray, it would most likely end up in the trash

.”

Days later he received an "express dismissal"

notification

from the contractor he worked for, Total Clean.

His boss alleged that no one had offered her the food she decided to take and that her conduct had "irrevocably destroyed the trust necessary to continue the employment relationship."

"They called me little more than

a thief

for taking a piece of sandwich worth a pound and a half," Gabriela recalls.

"It was outrageous, to be treated that way, as if you were worthless. I received

discriminatory treatment

and I decided not to remain silent."

Gabriela, 39 years old, mother of a 10-year-old daughter, Ecuadorian by birth and with Spanish nationality after having lived 13 years in our country, decided to put the case in the hands of United Voices of the World.

"It is not just a union, it is also a community for Latino workers who constantly suffer abuse from employers," she emphasizes.

"In the United Kingdom there is a total lack of protection for workers, and even more so if they are subcontracted and if they are cleaners, immigrants and Latinos," warns

Petros Elia

, general secretary of the UVW, which he co-founded 10 years ago and which represents workers from more than a hundred countries.

"For example, an employee must have been in a company for at least two years to be able to claim

unfair dismissal

. Gabriela was precisely two years old the day she was fired."

Apart from the legal actions against the contractor, UVW took direct action with a campaign that culminated in a loud and succulent protest outside the offices of Devonshires Solicitors, the law firm in the City where Gabriela was responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of services and kitchens.

"We went there with cans of tuna and sliced ​​bread, and we delivered

300 sandwiches

to the reception," recalls Gabriela.

"More than 30 people supported me and many people from the building came out to greet me and express their solidarity. For me it was an act with a lot of symbolism, and I hope it helps the Latino community raise its voice."

The Justice for Gabriela

campaign

has had a great media echo in the United Kingdom, where the case has been dubbed

Sandwichgate

.

"What I keep wondering is who could see me, because I was very discreet and there were no security cameras," recalls the expressive cleaning employee, who worked in human resources at a sausage and meat products distribution company in Spain and gave the He moved to London in 2014. "I have never left my beloved Spain because I have my sister there, but the economic situation forced me to leave," he remembers.

"I am very adventurous and it was not difficult for me to adapt. And the same thing now: I soon found a full-time job and I don't think I would work for that company again. I have a very good reputation from my previous jobs and

there is no shortage of work here

."

Total Clean has not responded to EL MUNDO's request to give its version of the events.

Devonshires Solicitors released a statement saying it did not make a formal complaint and would not object if Gabriela was reinstated by the contractor and returned to cleaning in her offices.