Byron burger has been involved in a shady government ploy to catch immigrants. The chain has just got in trouble after reports revealed that in early July, London managers held a “training exercise” which was actually a front for immigration control to turn up and arrest a number of migrant staff.
London’s Spanish newspaper El Iberico quotes a source from within Byron that states that on July 4th, migrant workers mostly of a Latin American background, from as many as 15 Byron branches, were brought to a secret location under the belief they would be training.
After a matter of minutes, immigration workers showed up suddenly with not only pictures but also the names of migrant staff, clearly suggesting a pre-developed plan.
A manager apparently said, “We know what’s going on and all this was prepared. This is not training”.
The source also claimed that 50 workers may have even been deported following the nasty surprise, whilst 150 avoided arrest but may currently be in hiding.
The manager defended his decision by stating that “the company would go bankrupt” if it had to pay a fine for all the employees in the country who didn’t have correct paperwork. The source estimates that there could be up to 100 workers with incorrect or no documentation in the London branches of the restaurant alone.
According to quotes elsewhere, the chain has explained that they “have a long and close collaboration with the Home Office”.
Byron aren’t the only company that the government are slyly targeting though. The East London Revolutionary Communist Group described a Deliveroo staff member’s witness account of police and immigration officers crashing their office.
“Police were searching for drugs, immigration and passport control were looking for undocumented migrants and DWP were looking for people ‘illegally claiming benefits’.”