Migrant workers’ unsanitary living quarters blamed for surge in cases

UNHYGIENIC and overcrowded conditions for migrant workers are turning Europe’s food industry into a coronavirus hotspot, a watchdog has warned.

Concern is growing after outbreaks in Germany and Spain among migrant workers living in often cramped and unsanitary conditions. More than 1,300 employees tested positive at a slaughterhouse in western Germany – mostly migrants from Romania and Bulgaria. In Spain, more than 178 people were tested following an outbreak among fruit labourers in the Aragon region.

While authorities in both countries said they could contain the outbreaks, it was thought migrant workers’ living conditions allowed the virus to spread.

In Germany, they were believed to have been housed in overcrowded apartments and made to work where social distancing was impossible. In Spain, local authorities admitted fruit pickers were often offered no accommodation and ended up sleeping rough.

Faire Mobilität, a German government-sponsored watchdog for migrant workers’ rights, stated: “Politicians have done far too little to put an end to this system of exploitation. This is now taking its toll in the corona pandemic.”

The outbreak at Tönnies pig slaughterhouse in Rheda-wiedenbrück accounted for more than a third of cases in Germany in the past week and drove up the country’s R rate to 2.88, its highest level in months. Hubertus Heil, the employment minister, accused the firm of “taking an entire region hostage” by failing to stick to hygiene rules, and warned it would be held to account.

In May, 850 employees at three different slaughterhouses in Germany were infected, accounting for 6 per cent of Germany’s cases. A Romanian who once worked at Tönnies told Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that he had to share a room with six others and was expected to work 200 hours a month.

It was compared to the crowded dormitories for migrant workers which were blamed for a second wave of coronavirus in Singapore in April.

German government scientists said there was no cause for alarm and that the rise in the R number reflected the low overall number of cases, which meant small fluctuations appeared to be dramatic. However, authorities did not rule out a new regional lockdown.

In Spain, Aragon reimposed a local lockdown following the outbreak among fruit pickers. Salvador Illa, the Spanish health minister, said the area was receiving “very special attention”.

Keita Baldé, a professional footballer, stepped in to help African migrant pickers sleeping rough in Lleida, Catalonia. Mr Baldé, who grew up in Catalonia and plays for AS Monaco and Senegal, said he was stunned to find hotels in Lleida refusing labourers.

“Black lives seem to matter if your name is Keita Baldé, but if you’re a casual worker in Lleida your life doesn’t matter,” he said.

‘Politicians have done far too little to end this exploitation. This is now taking its toll in the corona pandemic’