Denial of proper food III/III

 The Standard Unified Contract obliges the employer to provide proper working conditions for the worker and to cover her food and clothing needs. However, 32% of the workers said they did not receive sufficient food from the employers. Others said they had to eat in secret. In some cases the food provided by the employer was limited to half a loaf of bread with a piece of cheese and cup of tea over a 24-hour period. 

“They would all eat out and they wouldn’t give me anything to eat. I used to cook in their absence and hide the food under the table. I used to eat when they were out, and I would open all the doors and windows for the smell to get out so the Madame would not find out. I asked her to let me cook and she refused. That’s why I would cook in her absence. One day she asked me where the food was going, and I told her I didn’t know, and asked her to look how small my stomach was. They would eat all the fruit and give me half a loaf of bread. How can I eat and be full? They used to eat a lot and order in, but never order food for me. I would be hungry and look at them and they would never buy me anything. I used to cry a lot, even when they would go out I would cry because I knew they were eating while I was hungry. I would only cook rice and never 48 49 vegetables, because if she smelled the vegetables, she would scream at me, ‘What’s that smell?!’ So I would cook rice and eat it with water.”87 Due to being denied sufficient food, other workers said they would buy supplies and cook at their own expense, while some had to hide their food and eat it in secret.

http://www.kafa.org.lb/StudiesPublicationPDF/PRpdf-78-635554479048554864.pdf