Turkish Guest Workers Protest in Boden Over Unpaid Wages Amid Labor Exploitation Concerns

Around 40 Turkish guest workers have traveled to Boden, Sweden, to protest unpaid wages they claim are owed for work done between October 2024 and March 2025. Despite extremely cold temperatures near -20 degrees Celsius, the workers have been sleeping in a car while preparing to demonstrate outside the office of Stegra, the main contractor at the construction site. According to Nevzat Yiğit, a workers' representative, partial payments were made but the full amounts are still outstanding. The workers hold a detailed list of amounts and names and vow not to leave until fully compensated.

Stegra has acknowledged responsibility in the matter but attributes the wage issues to subcontractors, notably Ankitech, which had left Sweden after pressure to comply with fair wage agreements. However, the resolution offered through an agreement with the labor union Byggnads does not cover the full compensation owed to workers. Joakim Lindholm, chairman of Byggnads Norrbotten, highlighted that this situation illustrates a broader problem of labor exploitation in Sweden affecting many foreign workers.

Recent labor inspections at Stegra revealed that at least 32 employees lacked valid work permits, underscoring systemic labor rights violations. The Byggnads union warns that these guest workers' case is just the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of exploitation in the Swedish labor market.