A five-month investigation by the Guardian and Investigate Europe has documented evidence of exploitation, dangerous conditions and serious injuries among migrant workers on datacentre sites in Europe. The probe found evidence of debilitating injuries, unpaid wages and squalid living quarters while examining conditions in Belgium, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.
Sandu, a 34-year-old electrical tester at a Google site in Saint-Ghislain, Belgium, was injured in an arc flash. He says managers confirmed the lines had been de-energised; while testing wiring without a protective suit, he linked cables and the lines were live. The blast sent 400 volts and 12,000 amps into his face and across the right side of his body. Sandu says he decided not to retrieve the suit because people were waiting and the round trip would have added 15 minutes. Hospital records seen by the journalists show burns to 12% of his body. Sandu says he was placed in an induced coma for five days. The local labour inspectorate closed its investigation in late October and found no wrongdoing.
The case is part of a broader pattern the investigation uncovered. Europe is in the midst of a datacentre boom, part of the largest infrastructure surge the continent has seen in decades, with more than 2,300 facilities. Unions say the push for tech sovereignty is becoming increasingly reliant on the exploitation of migrant labour.
At a Microsoft construction site in Gävle, Sweden, workers for the subcontractor BenBau described packed living quarters, including 24 people sharing a kitchen and 14 men sharing a single bathroom. They say they reported vermin, broken ventilation systems and lack of heating during sub-zero winters. Medical records show one Romanian worker tested positive for active tuberculosis earlier this year. Workers say others living in the same housing showed similar symptoms soon after. According to workers, BenBau initially informed only a few men who shared close quarters with the infected worker, then told them testing was optional.
Payslips shown by more than 30 workers appear to show some of them working up to 50 or 60 hours a week without overtime pay. Days before publication, the union representing the Romanian workers at the site reached a settlement with BenBau, which the union says will give workers back pay and allow unions access to sites. The investigation also detailed a contractor who fell through a roof hatch at the Gävle site, and an October 2021 incident in which a forklift allegedly ran over a worker’s foot.
Google said its supplier code requires suppliers to comply with local labour laws. Microsoft said it sets health and safety requirements for contractors and has processes including audits. Dornan said it was committed to safe working conditions and complying with labour laws; Collen said it was committed to safe, healthy and respectful sites; BenBau said it takes welfare, health and safety concerns seriously. James McCabe from Unite the Union said that at sites where the union encountered Irish datacentre contractors, there were concerns about a lack of normal and meaningful union access and serious concerns about labour crimes and exploitation. European Parliament rapporteur Johan Danielsson said that if big American multinationals were allowed to bring anti-union business models to Europe, workers behind the fence were being abused.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Human cost of the AI boom: The race to build AI infrastructure relies on a migrant workforce whose safety and rights are systematically compromised, testing the enforcement of Europe's labour protections.
- Liability gap: A chain of subcontractors often leaves no single entity accountable for serious safety breaches, making it hard for workers to seek justice.
- EU policy test: The investigation exposes a fundamental contradiction between the EU's digital sovereignty ambitions and its labour protections.
Background
Europe is experiencing a massive boom in building datacentres, with over 2,300 now operating and hundreds under construction, driven largely by the growth of AI. The construction work is often outsourced through long chains of contractors and subcontractors relying heavily on migrant labour.
Key Perspectives
- Workers (via the Guardian/Investigate Europe): Report severe injuries, squalid living conditions, disease spread, and lack of overtime pay, with little recourse from regulators.
- Tech Companies (Google, Microsoft): Emphasise they set strict health, safety and labour requirements for suppliers in their codes of conduct and contracts, and have auditing processes.
- Subcontractors (Dornan, BenBau, Collen): Assert commitment to safety and welfare, say they comply with laws, and claim zero tolerance for breaches of policy.
- James McCabe (Unite the Union): States there are serious concerns of labour crimes and exploitation at tech-giant datacentre sites run by Irish contractors.
- Johan Danielsson (European Parliament rapporteur): Accuses big American multinationals of importing anti-union business models and abusing workers.
- Solidariska Byggare (Swedish Union): Brokered a settlement with BenBau for back pay and union access at the Gävle site.
What to Watch
- Whether the settlement between Solidariska Byggare and BenBau creates a template for unionising other datacentre construction sites.
- Whether labour inspectorates in Belgium and Sweden will reopen investigations given the new evidence.
- How the European Parliament responds to the rapporteur's specific criticisms of big tech's employment practices in the construction of strategic infrastructure.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe headline says migrant workers face exploitation, injuries and disease amid Europe’s datacentre boom.World news | The Guardian: “In dozens of interviews we found evidence of debilitating injuries, squalid living conditions, an unreported infectious outbreak, unpaid wages and exploitative employment practices.”
- SupportedThe summary reports an electrocution at a Google site.World news | The Guardian: “The 34-year-old electrical tester had already worked almost 10 hours, but says such last-minute jobs were normal”
- SupportedThe summary describes squalid conditions at the Microsoft site.World news | The Guardian: “They showed evidence of crowded living quarters – 24 people to a kitchen, 14 men to a single bathroom – and say they have reported vermin infestations, broken ventilation systems and lack of heating during the sub-zero Swedish winters”
- SupportedThe summary reports a tuberculosis case at the Microsoft site.World news | The Guardian: “In February this year, one Romanian worker tested positive for active tuberculosis, medical records show.”
- SupportedA five-month Guardian and Investigate Europe investigation examined datacentre conditions in Belgium, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands.World news | The Guardian: “according to a five-month investigation by Investigate Europe and the Guardian into conditions for migrant workers on datacentre sites across Sweden , Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.”
- SupportedAt the Google site, Sandu says managers confirmed the lines were de-energised, but they were live when he linked the cables; he had not retrieved a protective suit.World news | The Guardian: “A protective suit was locked away in an equipment room. The round trip would have added another 15 minutes to the job, he says, and people were waiting, so he decided not to retrieve the suit. Once in the voltage room, Sandu says the managers confirmed the lines had been de-energised.”
- SupportedThe blast involved 400 volts and 12,000 amps.World news | The Guardian: “In milliseconds, 400 volts and 12,000 amps hit Sandu’s face and across the right side of his body.”
- SupportedThe local labour inspectorate closed its investigation in late October and found no wrongdoing.World news | The Guardian: “The local labour inspectorate closed its investigation in late October and found no wrongdoing.”
- SupportedEurope has more than 2,300 datacentres amid the largest infrastructure surge the continent has seen in decades.World news | The Guardian: “Europe is in the midst of a datacentre boom, the largest infrastructure surge the continent has seen in decades, with more than 2,300 datacentres”
- SupportedAt the Gävle site, 24 people shared a kitchen and 14 men shared one bathroom.World news | The Guardian: “They showed evidence of crowded living quarters – 24 people to a kitchen, 14 men to a single bathroom”
- Partly supportedWorkers said other residents showed similar symptoms soon after the Romanian worker tested positive for TB.World news | The Guardian: “In February this year, one Romanian worker tested positive for active tuberculosis, medical records show. Shortly after, others living in the same shared housing showed similar symptoms.”
- SupportedPayslips shown by more than 30 workers appeared to show some working up to 50 or 60 hours a week without overtime pay.World news | The Guardian: “More than 30 workers have shown hundreds of payslips to the Guardian and Investigate Europe that appear to show some of them working up to 50 or 60 hours a week with no overtime pay”
