1900 cases in the meat industry: worst fears confirmed

mainly from Eastern Europe contract workers in the German meat industry That many in appalling conditions, is now known to the General Public. However, the Details of a report, the dernordrhein-Westphalian health Minister, Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), now the Parliament has presented, once again, shocking.

Pure Burger

Political correspondent in North Rhine-Westphalia.

In the case of a large-scale control of the 650 collective and communal accommodation or company apartments in North Rhine-Westphalia, in which a total of 5300 people live who work for contract companies in the meat industry, the auditors found until the end of may – before the case Tönnies – around 1900 "medium to serious" defects."The range of complaints begins in the absence of simple hygiene measures, such as a lack of disinfectant or lack of cleaning plans in combination with over-allocation", - stated in the report literally. "In extreme cases of mold infestation, the danger of collapse, leaking roofs, disastrous sanitary facilities, vermin infestation, and fire protection deficiencies have been found."

deductions from Inadequate wage and unworthy properties

had to be cleared Four apartments in Gütersloh, Germany, Espelkamp, Germany and Bochum, Germany due to significant construction defects and health hazards. "The complaints about poor housing conditions of employees of contract companies in the meat industry, of citizens from the affected regions are within the framework of the confirmed extraordinary Review during the Covid-19-pandemic," says Laumann.

prior to the pandemic, the North Rhine-Westphalian health - and work Minister had with the industry. In the past year, he had thirty large farms between the Rhine and the Weser, in the context of a review of action control. You said "Fair working in the meat industry" and promoted as the Minister at the time, "depressing" findings of improper salary deductions over a lack of protection to unworthy accommodation.

When it came in may to a high number of coronavirus infections in the case of contract workers of several slaughterhouses, among other things, in Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and in North Rhine-Westphalia, told Laumann only the mass testing for all employees in meat processing companies, but the exception to use the situation to the North Rhine-Westphalian labour protection management for the first time in Germany the accommodation of contract workers in large-scale control. In the Corona-pandemic the infection protection act applies, which is why the authorities unlike in the past, the ways to take in addition to the Operated the properties systematically under the microscope.