Managers responsible for cleaning four luxury Amsterdam gyms have been suspended pending an investigation into the exploitation of cleaners, owner Tom Moos said in a video message.

Last week the Parool reported that employment ministry inspectors found 23 cleaners working at Saints & Stars chain without proper papers and whose passports had been taken in by the company.

Some of them also said they had been forced to share beds with strangers at the house in Amsterdam where they were living while their work permits were apparently being finalised.

Moos said on Sunday that the gym’s staff had been spat at and threatened with death since the Parool’s revelations. The Parool story, he said, was one sided and drew conclusions even though the official investigation was still underway.

He said the gym had worked with the same cleaning company for years and that they had been using people “who are allowed to work within the EU” for three months because of staff shortages. He was completely unaware of any signs they were being exploited, he said.

Read the full Parool investigation in English

The company, he said, had set up its own investigation into the situation and would also cooperate fully with the labour inspectorate.

Well-wishers have since launched a crowdfunding campaign for the cleaners which has raised €34,000 so far.