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ACTS Post opinions with a wide range of perspectives to encourage constructive discussion.
Eastern Europeans have been known for years to work in miserable conditions in German slaughterhouses. Only the pandemic ended the exploitation of politicians. But in many other industries, the problems remain unsolved.
In the future, large meat-processing companies in Germany will have to hire people who slaughter and cut animals and process the meat. This may not sound sensational, but it is actually a breakthrough in the industry. Because so far the mass practice has looked different: the slaughterhouse workers, who are mostly from Eastern Europe, have been outsourced and have very few rights. Or rather: almost none.
The new labor protection control law no longer prohibits the use of personnel by foreign companies in large meat-processing plants. This should put an end to the practices that turned some of the German slaughterhouses into Kovid-19 outbreaks in the early summer. As long as companies cannot find a way to circumvent the law.
In fact, we should be ashamed of what is happening. It has been known for years in which miserable conditions workers are forced to work and live in slaughterhouses, almost without exception coming from Eastern Europe. Only when the outbreaks in question became a threat to the locals did the political will to change suddenly improve the situation for foreign workers.
All of Germany benefits from exploitation
Slaughterhouses are not an isolated case at all. And many other workers are forced to endure miserable wages and poor working conditions: construction workers, asparagus or strawberry pickers, caregivers who tend to the elderly in their homes, messengers. And they work until exhaustion. And they are mostly Eastern Europeans. But so far nothing has changed for them.
Following the enlargement of the EU, higher wages in the West have led many Eastern Europeans to go to Germany. Many Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and Bulgarians came here. A few months of work in Germany, then a few months in the homeland, and then back, this is how the so-called “mobile workers”. In Germany, meanwhile, a whole system has been needed to attract that workforce. However, this system does not offer Eastern Europeans the same labor rights as local workers. This system simply takes advantage of them.
Meanwhile, entire industries in Germany depend on these “mobile workers” from Eastern Europe. When borders in Europe were closed in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, farmers in Germany were left without field workers. The harvest was in danger. 80,000 Romanians had to be transported to Germany to collect asparagus. And the nurses in Germany are mostly from Eastern Europe. About 300,000 older people in Germany are cared for mainly by nannies from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries in the region. Also, 24 hours a day, although their contracts include a 40-hour work week. Without these poorly paid staff, the system would have collapsed.
Brokerage agencies make a lot of money
All these employees have the same problem: they are almost never directly hired by a German employer. In this way, the Germans save costs and at the same time assume no responsibility. The big beneficiaries of this are the intermediary agencies, which take advantage of the gaps in the legislation related to free movement within the EU. Very often, foreign workers are forced to pay brokerage fees so high that they actually work below the minimum wage. And it is only in Germany that these people discover that the agencies do not pay them any health insurance at home. No matter what industry we are talking about, all “mobile workers” say the same thing: that they did not believe such things could happen in a state governed by the rule of law like Germany. And the rulers closed their eyes to these practices for a long time.
Observers even speak of the “tacit approval” behavior of politicians. They were aware of the problems, but did nothing until the plan worked. Politicians in the “mobile workers” home countries have also turned a blind eye. They enjoyed the decrease in unemployment and the money that these people send home, to their children, parents, friends. And justice? She shows her determination whenever she goes to court, as in the case of a Bulgarian nurse who was awarded extra pay for her work at an elderly woman’s home in Germany. One of the judges even wondered why there were no more claims of this type from other victims. The fact is that few Eastern Europeans claim their rights in court.
National and pan-European solutions are needed
People who come to Germany for a few months, who don’t know anyone and don’t speak German well enough, tend to suffer misery. They rarely manage to organize and fight for better conditions.
Therefore, brokerage contracts should be prohibited in many other industries. And foreign workers must be properly informed of their rights. At European level, a register must be created to record in real time whether workers are socially insured.
In the meat processing industry, the coronavirus pandemic blew up the system and brought about lasting changes. And in other industries? When will the changes occur there too? I hope we don’t have to wait for the next pandemic.
Germany
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