Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Germany: Romanian workers reveal dire conditions at slaughterhouses
As Germany's meat industry faces scrutiny in light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak amid poor workplace conditions, seasonal workers are daring to speak out about their experiences.
"We work at Tönnies and we've been quarantined. Nobody is looking after us!"
DW has been inundated with calls from Romanian workers who feel they have been left in the lurch in the district of Gütersloh, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, following a coronavirus outbreak at a Tönnies slaughterhouse.
Following a number of DW reports about the poor working and living conditions of shortterm workers in Germany's meat-processing industry, they wanted to describe their experiences in recent years of low wages, threats and exploitation at the workplace.
Read more: Europe's meat industry is a coronavirus hot spot
Most workers interviewed, many of whom were very upset, have been either employed by the huge meat producer Tönnies or its subsidiaries. They have described extremely exhaustive work and aggressive language. The workers accused managers of not putting enough protective measures in place in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some have also said that the shared accommodation, in which they were forced to live, was cramped and inhumane. And it was in these conditions that they suddenly found themselves quarantined.
Read more: Opinion: Don't look away now
Simple scheme?
While some workers have been working in Germany for years — and others for only a few months — most are among the tens of thousands of Romanians who are hired by Romanian sub-contracting companies that bring them to Germany for low-wage labor.
The system is simple. Ads are put up by sub-contractors looking to hire seasonal workers during the asparagus or strawberry harvest in Germany, or for more permanent work in German slaughterhouses. People looking for work usually pay about €100 ($112) to draw up a contract and often they also have to pay their own travel costs (€240 for a roundtrip by bus).
Read more: Coronavirus: Living in lockdown in Germany's Verl
Family money
Though the ads promise a minimum wage of €9.35 per hour, they fail to say that workers are expected to pay €7 for a bed in a shared room and that other "incidental costs" will be incurred. Though paid overtime is also promised, it is not always delivered. In some cases when it is, cash-in-hand is given, bypassing Germany's fiscal authorities. Many employees say their payslips show they earn between €700-900 per month.
Despite this, some of the Romanian workers with whom DW spoke were satisfied with the wages, though they had the feeling they were being cheated out of their share. These workers said that they still earned twice as much as they would in Romania — and thus are better able to financially support their families.
The few who spoke out about the conditions or discrepancies on their payslips said the Romanian sub-contractors, managers, and supervisors always had a rehearsed explanation ready. These workers say they were never able to get hold of a German manager — let alone the "big boss."
Read more: Gütersloh mayor slams Tönnies meat producer after outbreak
MGM in the spotlight
Not all of the sub-contracting companies have been subject to criticism — but there are a few that seem to crop up time and again. One of these is MGM, a company owned by businessman Dumitru Miculescu, who also has investments in real estate.
Miculescu began his pig and poultry farming career in southern Romania and grew it into a small empire. With a wide and well-connected network of companies, media outlets and even state authorities, he has been accused of placing his friends and relatives in official positions and has since continued to expand his influence.
He even tried his hand at politics, changing his party allegiance a number of times, depending on the circumstances. Miculescu is said to have exerted pressure on business and political rivals — but to no avail. His political career never got off the ground and he abandoned his political ambitions in 2016.
Since then, he has concentrated on his growing empire in Germany, where his reputation for exerting pressure has followed him. German media has also reported on his companies' wage-squeezing schemes and their tendency to demand exorbitant rents.
Miculescu did not respond to DW's request for an interview.
Seasonal workers will keep coming
The quarantine imposed on Tönnies workers is due to be lifted in a few days and the factory will soon be up and running again.
Some workers had returned to Romania before the coronavirus lockdown and do not want to return. Others are hoping to come back to better conditions due to the fallout from recent media coverage.
The new job adverts promise better working conditions. Romanians will continue to come to Germany so long as they cannot find well-paid work at home — but most would prefer to sign a contract directly with German companies if reforms move forward.
Read more: Opinion: Putting the foxes at Tönnies in charge of the hen house?
This may well happen if long-overdue reforms within the German meat processing industry are finally implemented and sub-contractors are banned. The German parliament is due to debate a bill to this effect after the summer break.
However, there is no legislation as yet regarding agriculture, the construction industry and courier services — all sectors that have been accused of scandalous work conditions for years.
If Germany, which has just taken over the six-month presi
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. There are things we just don't want to know. Like how our aging neighbor pays her Polish caregiver. Or from which dubious websites your teenage nephew downloads movies that aren't even playing in cinemas yet. Or what kind of people sexually abuse children, and how. Or what our sausages are actually made of. And what it's like to work in a German slaughterhouse.
These are topics where society prefers to look away. And that makes it all the more painful when a sudden event forces us to confront these realities.
The coronavirus pandemic is one such unexpected event. And, more specifically, the major outbreak at the Tönnies meat-processing plant in northwestern Germany. Over 1,500 laborers have tested positive for the virus so far. Some have needed intensive medial care.
Read more: Coronavirus solidarity in Germany is on the wane but not gone
The outbreak has forced politicians and locals to acknowledge that foreign laborers working at the Tönnies site have seen their wages squeezed and their living conditions drop. That week after week, thousands of Romanians, Poles and Bulgarians are exploited, worn out and then sent home when they fall ill. Discarded, like broken consumer electronics goods. The Tönnies laborers have been treated like disposable humans, as a Catholic priest once described the situation.
An opportunity for radical change
In an attempt to contain the outbreak, lawmakers imposed a lockdown on the two worstaffected districts. All schools, kindergardens, museums, pools, cinemas and the slaughterhouse were shut down. Only one of the districts has since lifted restrictions.
It would be a tragedy if locals were to resume their lives as if nothing had happened. It would represent a missed opportunity: One that may not arise again any time soon. It's an opportunity to reform a powerful industry in the region; to end the exploitation of thousands of people; to repair Germany's image the scandal has tarnished internationally. And, finally, an opportunity to put an end to the rampant brutalization of society.
Read more: Germany: Former abattoir worker 'heard colleagues crying at night'
Stricter laws on the way
At the moment, they are still just government plans, but the German Parliament is set to soon pass stricter laws. These will limit — or even ban — the use of contracts for work (which pay a one-off fee for a specific task, as opposed to a permanent labor contract). Berlin also wants to better regulate animal transports, and ensure livestock are reared in appropriate conditions. The meat of a living creature should not be reduced to a budget product.
Now, amid the scandal, company boss Clemens Tönnies suddenly wants to change the way his runs his business. He and his management team, who personify unethical business practices, have caved in. They now profess to welcome change in the meat industry. But we should not be sucked in by empty promises.
The cutlet kings have made many such promises in the past. Ultimately, though, their own wallet has provided the moral compass. It is an anachronism that a highly industrialized nation like Germany should export pigs' trotters all the way to China. And it is an utter disgrace that this form of modern slavery exists in the heart of Germany.
Read more: Gütersloh mayor slams Tönnies meat producer after outbreak
Show some compassion
Not everyone in Germany wants to the meat industry to be more strictly regulated. Because this will lead to higher consumer prices. Suddenly, some people seem to lose all compassion, arguing that "nobody is forced to come and work in Germany." But it contradicts the constitution, which stipulates that "Human dignity shall be inviolable." This basic right applies to each and every individual in Germany, regardless of their nationality, faith, age or bank account.
Many laborers from eastern and southeastern Europe who come to Germany for work do so out of abject poverty, or to earn money to care for a sick loved one. But few of them who carry out back breaking work even earn the minimum wage. Employers force them into endless hours of unpaid overtime.
The Gütersloh lockdown will end soon. We now need radical reforms to the meat industry, ideally across Europe. It was made for man, not viceversa. var pymParent = new pym.Parent( 'promio-pym-container', 'https://system.promioconnect. com/ register/ 16401/ default/en/newsletter-form', {} );