background
Just in time for the European Football Championship, there is a threat of a lull on the grill. The reason: temporary work in the meat industry is finally banned. Manufacturers can no longer increase their workforce when necessary.
Imagine it’s the European Championships, everyone is dreaming of the next summer fairy tale and there’s nothing to grill! For millions of people in Germany, this is a real horror scenario that could actually happen. The “Law to Secure Employee Rights in the Meat Industry” is responsible for this. It says that temporary work has no longer been permitted at meat product manufacturers since April. This affects 120 companies in Germany.
Companies complain, union satisfied
“It is entirely possible that companies will say we have to give up,” says Horst Koller from the Association of Sausage and Ham Producers (BVWS). “The effects are serious. Companies are trying to prevent the worst by hiring permanent employees, but they are definitely suffering huge losses in sales.”
Many companies assume that they will have to cancel orders in the future: “Then our customers may switch to cheaper products from abroad. Their market share has already increased by 20 percent in the last three years.”
The law of the Food-Pleasure-Gaststätten Union (NGG) tastes much better: “It brings an improvement in that employees now have stable and secure working relationships. That they can specifically adjust to the working hours they work and the work they do.” says Thomas Bernhard, the responsible economic group leader. “What the workers don’t want is to be exploited, to be paid very little or not at all for the hours they work.”
Corona shock has shaken the industry
The trigger for the law was the corona pandemic. More than 1,000 slaughterhouse workers became infected with the virus in their cramped quarters and had to be isolated. There had already been complaints about miserable working conditions in the industry. This time, politicians took strict action with an industry-wide ban on external personnel.
“There can be no tolerance in Germany for a business model that accepts the exploitation of people,” explained Labor Minister Hubertus Heil from the SPD in May 2020. Since 2021, slaughterhouses have no longer been allowed to employ workers through work contracts or temporary work, since January 1 In April, this regulation now also applies to meat processors.
Were changes missed?
“It definitely hits companies that produce seasonal products very heavily. There you have peaks that you can no longer cover,” explains association spokesman Koller from the BVWS. “This will be at the expense of the existing workforce, who will have to work more overtime. You can no longer give them time off as they wish if they want to do something with the family. That was definitely possible before because you could rely on temporary workers.”
Employee representative Bernhard from the NGG union can only shake his head at these statements: “The situation has not changed; it has been in this constellation for three years. The employers apparently did not find it necessary to do anything.”
In his view, the industry simply failed to prepare properly. “You can of course compensate for this, you have to have a bit of imagination, break away from your traditional thoughts and approach it with modern ideas. Then seasonal tensions can definitely be smoothed out.”
understanding for any Price increases
Another fear among manufacturers is cost increases due to more permanent staff. That would also increase prices for consumers. Would they be willing to pay more for sausage and meat?
Sample from a survey in Kassel. People there agree: “Personally, I think it’s even more important that there are proper labor laws and good working conditions – not that other people are exploited for the products that I buy,” explains a young man, and a woman adds: “One or two euros more per kilo doesn’t matter.”
A full-time chef has another idea: “Maybe you should say: ‘Okay, I’ll eat one less sausage and have a little more salad instead.’ This could actually be a solution to counteract the impending shortage of grilled food. Then nothing stands in the way of a new summer fairy tale, at least on the catering side.