Following a series of scandals over the exploitation of Eastern European workers in German abattoirs, the meat industry’s six biggest companies Tönnies, Vion, Heidemark, Danish Crown, Lohmann and Westfleisch signed a declaration in which they declare their voluntary commitment to combatting all kinds of social dumping and to improving social and working conditions for workers in their abattoirs. The declaration was signed on 21 September in the presence of the SPD German Minister for the Economy Sigmar Gabriel and the German Food Beverages and Catering union the NGG. A key point in the declaration is that companies have promised to progressively increase the percentage of workers on permanent contracts. For the Minister of the Economy, the agreement constitutes “enormous progress”.
Sub-contractors from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Ukraine recruit thousands of their own nationals, contract them out to German abattoirs on the basis of a “service contract” (Werkverträge), and house them under often unstable conditions (c.f. article No. 7880). Going forward, these workers’ social and working conditions are set to improve. Under pressure from the German Minister for the Economy, Sigmar Gabriel (SPD), the country’s six big meat companies have undertaken a series of commitm
…Do you have information to share with us?