Romanian Workers Posted to Germany Precarious Working Conditions

Abstract

Drawing on participatory and non-participatory observation and on interviews with workers, union representatives and migrant advisors, this chapter focuses on the working conditions of Romanians posted in the construction and meat industry sectors in Germany. More precisely, it addresses their income level, housing and health, as well as union approaches towards workers in this type of employment. Both because the regulatory framework in force in 2015-16, when this research was carried out, did not grant wages above the minimum standards in Germany for posted workers, and as a result of informal agreements or unlawful practices of employers, respondents were often paid below the wages they were entitled to. Their accommodation ranged from shared apartments insides towns to living-containers at the construction site or, in extreme cases, to illegal housing in tool-containers. At the same time, even if as a result of intense work rhythm and poor work safety, posted workers are more vulnerable to health issues and accidents than regular employees, their social health protection is low. On the other hand, the constraints of the outdated regulatory framework and their limited resources are among the factors that determined unions to support advisory offices for posted workers, instead of recruiting them within their structures. In this context, posted workers have an unbalanced position in regards to that of their employers, with few who were able to enforce their rights through collective action.

‘Slaves’ without coercion? Work-related classification patterns among Romanian migrant workers

“…Reports list cross-sectoral forms of exploitation (Daelken 2012;Loschert et al 2023) before and after the introduction of freedom of movement rights (Jobelius 2015) and speak of wage theft, lack of health insurance, poor housing conditions and cases of forced labour. With regard to the construction industry in particular, studies and reports highlight labour exploitation, unpaid work, unpaid overtime, informal work or cases of the theft of the annual leave entitlement and a lack of occupational safety (Voivozeanu 2019;Lackus and Schell 2020;Birner and Dietl 2021;Lübbe 2022;Sperneac-Wolfer 2022). No definite numbers exist as to how many Romanians are affected by labour exploitation; one expert from a counselling centre for migrant workers put the number of victims in the thousands or more.…”

“…Economic reasons are a powerful motive to seek work abroad (Sandu 2005), as are local migration cultures (Horvath 2008) and transnational networks (Ciobanu 2013) through which workers find job opportunities abroad or assist each other. In the area of posted work, findings indicate that 'lowlevel wages and precarious working conditions in Romania' (Voivozeanu 2019) play a decisive role in workers choosing to keep working abroad, whereas in Germany the language barrier excludes them from vast areas of the labour market. Recent studies point towards a 'multiple precarity' that working migrants face in the German meat and construction sectors (Birke 2022;Sperneac-Wolfer 2023;Voivozeanu 2019).…”

“…In the area of posted work, findings indicate that 'lowlevel wages and precarious working conditions in Romania' (Voivozeanu 2019) play a decisive role in workers choosing to keep working abroad, whereas in Germany the language barrier excludes them from vast areas of the labour market. Recent studies point towards a 'multiple precarity' that working migrants face in the German meat and construction sectors (Birke 2022;Sperneac-Wolfer 2023;Voivozeanu 2019).…”

“…In demonstrating how migrant workers classify their work abroad, this article contributes to ongoing discussions on migrant labour (Birke 2022;Ciobanu 2013;Sandu 2005;Voivozeanu 2019), with its originality located in its highlighting of classifications and their effects which, so far, has been a particularly overlooked dimension.…”

“…Reports from Faire Mobilität 2 and others show that Ionel's is not an isolated case and that cover-ups in cases of work accidents, backdated dismissals and wage theft are an integral part of the everyday lives of Romanian workers in Germany (Voivozeanu 2019;Faire Mobilität 2022). The risky and exploitative nature of the conditions under which Romanian migrants work on German construction sites is reflected in their negative evaluation of their engagements as 'slave labour'.…”