Poor pay, no social security and short notice periods. Temporary workers in Germany live with great insecurities and a lot of psychological stress. How are they and how does the law protect these people?
Temporary work is a good deal for many companies in Germany: For 50 years they have been able to borrow staff from a recruitment agency and use these people in a wide variety of positions. On the assembly line, in construction, in the cleaning industry, as a parcel deliverer and in many other areas. The number of temporary workers has increased almost tenfold since the 1990s.
The big advantage for the company: you can quickly and easily fire employees if you no longer need them. After all, these people are employed by the temporary employment agency and not by the company for which they ultimately work every day.
SZ author Sophie Kobel has researched how temporary workers are doing in Germany. She explains the problems that temporary workers have to contend with and the legislative initiatives that are intended to improve the situation.
Also featured in this episode is Andreea Garlonta. She runs a counseling center in Munich and explains why it is often so difficult to take action against poor working conditions.