by editor’s office, ch, tophotel

“Miserable exploitation” is what investigative journalist Günter Wallraff describes the working conditions at star restaurant Wartenberger Mühle near Kaiserslautern as. In the recently released issue of “Zeit Magazin“, Wallraff describes how apprentices were verbally and physically abused by their superiors: According to the victims’ accounts, confirmed by witnesses, apprentices were physically abused, such as being hit with a gravy ladle. One apprentice is reported to have once had several buckets of water poured over his head by colleagues.

The apprentices, who made up about half of the staff of Wartenberger Mühle in 2008, were working hours far beyond the limit defined in the youth labor law, writes Wallraff in “Zeit Magazin”. Carsten E., for instance, who took up his apprenticeship at Wartenberger Mühle in August 2007 at 16 years of age, soon recorded weekly labor times of up to 80.5 hours – twice as much as is stipulated in his articles of apprenticeship. “The legal limit is apparently not being taken seriously at Wartenberger Mühle,” Günter Wallraff, who had not investigated undercover this time, writes in his article.

“On the very first day, I had to work 15 hours,” a waitress commented on the beginning of her apprenticeship. The excessive standing and walking had led to an inflammation of the veins: “One leg was blue up to the knee,” writes Wallraff, “the pain was so severe that she wanted to see a doctor.” She was then told that she would have to work for another hour. A 16-year old apprentice “suffered from a break-down at the work place and had to be picked up by an amulance after having worked ten and twelve hours for several days.”

Having investigated these and other, similar accusations, the public prosecution discontinued the proceedings on March 16, 2009, “even though they declared,” said Wallraff, “that the accused had broken the law and jeopardized the victims’ health.” He was charged with a penalty payment of 5,000 euros to a charitable institution.

In 1991, Martin Scharff had been made Germany’s youngest star chef at 25 years of age, his restaurant at Landhotel Wartenberger Mühle was awarded one star by Michelin Guide, and scores 14 points in the Gault Millau.

Martin Scharff was not available for comments on the accusations. Courtesy of www.tophotel.de.