A teacher from Patiala fights a
solitary battle in Switzerland
A teacher from Patiala district of Punjab has been waging a solitary battle
for the last 6 years against the might of the entire Swiss establishment
for justice and for compensation from his Swiss employers. And despite several
setbacks and failures en route, he is not willing to give up.
The story begins in 1989 when Raj Kumar, a science teacher, came to
Switzerland to take up a job. In the beginning everything
was fine. He had a decent job, teaching students of middle and high
schools. He had a good salary and life was moving smoothly.
And then he made a move that he regrets to date. He joined a
reputed residential school, Institute Rosenberg, located in the small canton of St
Gall. And it is here that his saga began. A saga that has left Kumar
shattered, both physically and mentally, after an experience that he
compares with slavery.
''I would have laughed my head off, if 10 years ago, someone had
told me that such things could happen, and happen in this so-called advanced
and human rights conscious society. But my experiences here have made me
aware of how vulnerable a foreigner is in a country like Switzerland, where
a foreign worker has absolutely no rights and can be exploited beyond all
limits by his employer,'' says Kumar.
Kumar says he initially took a part-time employment at Rosenberg,
while continuing with his previous employment. However, the director of Rosenberg
lured him with promises of a much larger salary and Kumar resigned his job
to take up a full-time position at Rosenberg.
''But things went wrong from the day one. He did not give me my appointment letter, saying he would give it in a couple of weeks. Also, initially he asked me take up fewer hours per week, than originally promised, saying that with time he would give me the necessary number of classes. I waited on. But he never really meant to keep his word,'' recounts Kumar.
Then, in the month of February 1994, Kumar had an accident. He slipped on ice in the school and suffered serious injuries on his arms and spine.
And that was when the Rosenberg director showed his true colours, says Kumar.
''While I was in the hospital, Rosenberg informed its insurance company that I was not insured by the school. The insurance company in turn informed the hospital and I was immediately discharged, even though they were about to perform a crucial surgery to save my arms and spine. And that proved very expensive for me. I have nearly lost all the use of my left hand now, '' says Kumar.
It was then that Kumar learnt the whole story. ''I had been simply lured into a kind of slavery. I was not paid even the minimum salary guaranteed by the Swiss state. I was not insured by my employer, which is against the state laws. And, not just that. Rosenberg director had not even filed the official document, which has to be cleared by the Swiss police before any foreigner can take up employment. This document states the terms of employment and has to be filled in completely. However, Rosenberg had left the form blank and yet managed to get the permission from the police,'' says Kumar.
Not only did the director refuse insurance, but he also refused to pay Kumar's dues. And when he filed a penal complaint against the school and the director, a defamation case was slapped against him. All this while, Kumar had neither any job, nor any reliable source of income to support him. Kumar says this lack of resources proved to be a crucial handicap in his quest for justice.
''The lawyers are so expensive here, but without them, you can not move an
inch. For instance, I had wanted a copy of the complaint filed against me,
my natural right. However, when I demanded, the court registrar refused me.
Later, when I paid 2000 SFr to a lawyer, he wrote the same letter, and
within a week the copy of complaint had arrived. My lawyer told me clearly
that I had a very good case and had a good chance of winning it, but it
would be very expensive. I did not have the resources, so I had to let
him go,'' says Kumar.
Another problem for Kumar was that his case was heard at three different
levels of appeal, in three different courts, but by the same judge. ''If this guy
has already heard and rejected my case, should my appeal not go to a
different judge? Instead, all my petitions have gone to him and of course,
he has rejected all,'' says Kumar.
He then turned to the various social and human rights groups, but
got absolutely no help from anyone. ''I have approached over a dozen human
rights organisations all over Switzerland and Europe. However, I got
absolutely no help from anyone. They just kept on directing me from one to
the other. Even though I have a complete dossier with enough evidence to
prove my case, none of these organisations took up my case. Is it
because I am an Indian fighting a case of slavery against a white man?
These same organisations have in the past jumped to the defence of anyone,
if the alleged perpetrator is a non-White,'' complains Kumar.
When contacted, Karine Muller of the Swiss League of Human Rights,
Geneva, conceded that Kumar had been in touch with them and that they had
directed him to approach the local human rights organisation in the St Gall
area. Muller also admitted that she had advised Kumar
to move the Swiss federal courts in appeal. However, she had no response to
Kumar's statement that he lacked the resources to pursue his case and
needed the NGOs to push his case.
Besides his own case, Kumar has now documented several other
cases that have occurred in the same school or under similar circumstances.
''My case is not an isolated one. Swiss employers bring workers from foreign
countries on dirt cheap wages, far below the prescribed minimum wages,
employ them without social security cover, and if there is an accident,
they just simply deport them,'' says Kumar.
Even the United Nations has expressed concern about the state of
foreign workers in Switzerland and though the Swiss authorities have attempted
some window dressing, the issue is far from over.
And Raj Kumar says the only reason he continues to pursue the case is to ensure that other workers don't get trapped like him. ''Personally, I don't expect any great outcome in terms
of monetary or other compensation. I want justice for myself, that is it.
But I am carrying on the battle, in the hope that the issue will become
public and other people will get to know about the situation here.''
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