Ibrahima and Magatte were the only two people of the many who walked along the A Coruña promenade who tried to save Samuel Luiz from the fatal beating that a mob gave the young man at the exit of a pub on July 3, 2021. Both were immigrants without papers and they risked being expelled from Spain for being involved in that savage aggression.
They even put his life at risk, the police said, and his bravery was rewarded with residence and work permits and the distinction as adoptive children of the city.
The owner of the Puertas Betanzos company contacted the press a few days later to announce that he was offering them a job at his factory in Oza-Cesuras (A Coruña) due to his "heroism".
After a year and a half, Ibrahima and Magatte have been fired and denounce that they were "exploited".
The CIG union, which defends Ibrahima and Magatte, maintains that under that "gesture of kindness" by the company "hid an abusive contract, with untimely days of up to 10 and 11 hours a day for the lowest salary in the agreement."
Ibrahima, in statements to this newspaper, confirms that he and his compatriot worked longer hours than the rest of the workers, that his colleagues told them that theirs "was not normal."
The continuous overtime was paid "sometimes yes and sometimes no."
“We feel very cheated.
The company did not use it to advertise itself, to look good and win customers ”, he concludes.
The man who stood between Samuel Luiz's attackers to defend him also recounts that they were not notified of the dismissal in advance as required by law.
According to his account, the company ordered them to sign the termination of the contract the last day before taking vacation for Christmas, when they were about to get on a plane to go see his family in Senegal.
The CIG adds that they were tried to convince them not to take the pending holidays and that they were fired in "retaliation" for not accepting.
Puertas Betanzos denies it.
In a statement, the factory maintains that the dismissal was communicated to the two workers in November and that the reason is "solely and exclusively for organizational, productive and economic reasons."
Factory sources have claimed that the positions of Ibrahima and Magatte need "more versatile" workers.
The CIG also denounces that they were not even paid compensation and salary settlement.
Puertas Betanzos replies that "they received the maximum compensation established by law."
The matter will end up in court.
Ibrahima confirms that he and his compatriot will sue the factory and Puertas Betanzos, for his part, announces that he will take legal action against the CIG union "for illegitimate interference in the reputation of Puertas Betanzos", for having disclosed, he argues, "unfounded and tendentious affirmations” in his statement.
Factory sources defend that hiring Ibrahima and Magatte was "a good deed", a "decision made with the heart".
They were "very happy with them", they point out, and admit that "they had recently been promoted in the labor category with the corresponding salary update".
However, they allege that now "expenses have risen" and they need "more versatile workers."
The CIG maintains that the two Senegalese workers were replaced immediately after being dismissed,
Ibrahima and Magatte admit to being disappointed.
They say that after their behavior was made public during the deadly lynching suffered by Samuel Luiz, they had several job offers "on the table."
They opted for Puertas Betanzos because its owner seemed like a businessman they could "trust".
“He seemed like a great person to us, because of how he spoke.
But now we feel very cheated, even though we know that not everyone is like him," says Ibrahima.
