Unfair working conditions for seasonal workers in agriculture - financial experts provide insight

Unfair working conditions for seasonal workers in agriculture - financial experts provide insight

According to a report by www.zeit.de,

Seasonal workers in the asparagus, vegetable and strawberry harvest in Germany are confronted with inhumane working conditions, according to a study by Oxfam in collaboration with the Fair Farm Work Initiative. These workers suffer from wage dumping, inadequate health insurance coverage and high housing costs. It is reported that seasonal workers suffer from systematically depressed wages and are faced with an opaque combination of hourly and piece-rate wages.

The study shows that almost a third of agricultural employees were employed seasonally before the pandemic. Around 95 percent of this seasonal work is carried out by employees without German citizenship, many of them from Eastern Europe.

The high cost of accommodation and lack of insurance coverage were identified as further problems. In particular, it is reported that the cost of accommodation is unreasonably high and there is no regulatory authority to review it.

Seasonal workers also have inadequate health insurance coverage and often work in unacceptable conditions without adequate coverage. Responsibility for these working conditions is attributed not only to the companies, but also to German supermarkets, which pass on this pressure to the workers in the fields through the pressure to pay low prices.

The Fair Agricultural Work Initiative demands that purchasing below production costs be prohibited and that seasonal workers be employed subject to social security contributions in order to receive full statutory health insurance coverage. Discrimination and pressure to perform must not be a business model, says Benjamin Luig. It should also be noted that member organizations of the Fair Farm Work Initiative help seasonal workers throughout Germany with advice on their labor rights.