The ongoing Camp Nou renovation has been grabbing headlines all around the world for several months now, and with Barcelona no closer to returning to their home, these headlines are unlikely to go away anytime soon.
The latest development in the saga has the potential to push back the club's return date even further, as protests outside the stadium have taken place in relation to the alleged mistreatment of construction workers.
Cam Nou protest over the mistreatment of workers
On Tuesday, 4 November, a large group of construction workers gathered outside the Camp Nou to protest the fact that 50 of their colleagues were sacked unceremoniously earlier in the month.
The protest was organised and led by Union Action for CCOO del Habitat. Explaining the protest, their Head, Carlos del Barrio, said:
“They've been working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for over a year in some cases. They have been dismissed with the intention of forcing them to return to their country of origin. The moment they set foot on Turkish soil, their ability to defend themselves will be severely limited.”
The goals of the protest are as follows:
- To ensure that the affected employees are properly registered to work in the country.
- To ensure that unpaid or irregular wages are paid properly.
- To force the Spanish government to activate ‘the mechanism within the immigration regulations that allows for extraordinary regularisation in cases of collaboration with labour authorities.'
Could this impact Barcelona's Camp Nou return?
As things stand, Barcelona are reportedly going to return to the Camp Nou on November 22 for a La Liga match against Athletic Bilbao. However, until anything is confirmed, we should take these reports with a pinch of salt, given the number of delays so far.
There is a chance that this ongoing dispute between construction workers and the club could have an impact on this scheduled return date, too. If workers decide to down tools, then all future plans could be paused until the situation is resolved.
FGG says: Respect the workers
It always leaves a sour taste in the mouth when it emerges that football clubs that are worth billions of pounds are underpaying and mistreating the workers who are effectively helping them to value the club. Barcelona should resolve this dispute in a timely fashion.