‘Romanian wage slaves threatened with death in Germany’

[Cybran]

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/...-death-germany

“Humiliating wages, inhuman working conditions and coercion in a country that has declared itself the leader of the EU,” writes Jurnalul National in the wake of an investigation on working conditions of east Europeans in Germany, published by Munich daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and aired on German public television channel ARD.

The probe revealed the existence of a mafia-like organisation, which recruits Romanian workers for German companies, and then confiscates their identity papers and threatens them with death if they go to court to have their employment contracts enforced.

In the campaign ahead of the German general election, “Romanians have been become public enemy number one for the German welfare system and the country’s political class,” complains Jurnalul.

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaf...land-1.1703776

The full article in German. A Romanian woman says to the reporters that they were warned not to go to a lawyer, because "you don't know if a car will hit you on the way there".


I was going to post this in the other thread, but It got locked. This is another example of the true nature of the European Union and how it caters only to certain countries while exploiting others.

[Mayhem]

This is another example of the true nature of the European Union and how it caters only to certain countries while exploiting others.

way to go... thanks for the post, but this scentence is just stupid

[Ravenblade]

[...]
I was going to post this in the other thread, but It got locked. This is another example of the true nature of the European Union and how it caters only to certain countries while exploiting others.

Going by that logic we can assume the EU stands for wage slavery and that the practice is condoned. If that's the case then we need more proof. For now the only thing it proves that some German slaughterhouses maintained a criminal network of wage slaves. Strangely enough it is neither condoned nor legally supported there so we have an inconclusive proof. We need something more substantial. Something which proves it is condoned AND a general practise of the EU.

[Mormolyce]

The full article in German. A Romanian woman says to the reporters that they were warned not to go to a lawyer, because "you don't know if a car will hit you on the way there".


I was going to post this in the other thread, but It got locked. This is another example of the true nature of the European Union and how it caters only to certain countries while exploiting others.

The fuck does this have to do with the EU? This is an illegal indentured servitude ring.

[Deleted]

This kind of bullshit happens everywhere. It's not something that is too barbaric to happen in a so-called "civilized" country. I wouldn't be shocked.

[Cybran]

The fuck does this have to do with the EU? This is an illegal indentured servitude ring.

The fact that it's not illegal. The workers are hired in Spain through a mediator who is supposed to pay them. This is the same with the "Self Employment" contracts.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/romanian-wor...ed-and?lang=en

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...y-millions-tax

These practices allow Employers to abuse workers without any risks. The EU laws enable this exploitation.

[Zangeiti]

are you sure that its not just an indenterd servant kind of thing.

[Stir]

The fact that it's not illegal. The workers are hired in Spain through a mediator who is supposed to pay them. This is the same with the "Self Employment" contracts.

These practices allow Employers to abuse workers without any risks. The EU laws enable this exploitation.

It's actually still illegal. Well; that might depend on the country. In the Netherlands, wage slavery is illegal. Does it happen? Hell, yes. Are arrests made? Not quite often enough. But it's illegal practice, wage slaves are (by Dutch laws) recognized as victims (rather than criminals, which does happen elsewhere), and quite a lot of effort goes into stopping such malpractice.

As for the construction industry: Well; it's one of the more corrupt industries in most western EU countries. Linked directly with real estate and banking, the construction industry will do pretty much whatever it can to make money and reduce costs. And they've gotten good at circumventing the law.

Which is something else you don't account for. You seem to think that, if some people legally get away with something, then that means that the intent of the country is for them to get away with it. That's not the case, however. Most often, the law is played by very clever people who know all the hidden little flaws, and could exploit the phrasing of the most diligent. And in any kind of white border crime, that is exactly what happens. Dancing on the edge of law doesn't mean that the law agrees with it; it just means that the laws (as they are) are powerless to stop it (until rectified, which takes a lot of time because of all sorts of things that might happen in the domino-slipstream).

[larrakeyah]

Old habits die hard it seems.

[Ravenblade]

The fact that it's not illegal. The workers are hired in Spain through a mediator who is supposed to pay them. This is the same with the "Self Employment" contracts.

http://www.ituc-csi.org/romanian-wor...ed-and?lang=en

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...y-millions-tax

These practices allow Employers to abuse workers without any risks. The EU laws enable this exploitation.

Even though I do agree that this is unacceptable and shows that companies benefit from a lack of case-complete EU laws while leaving the baggage to state institutions, charity organization and citizen initiatives I don't really see how this is the "true nature of the EU". The very word nature describes a normal disposition and being an essential quality which by all critics which may be valid is a bit of a far stretch. I am all for putting the thumb screws on wage dumping practices of all kind but the problem is rooted deeper namely there is a distinct lack of minimum wages. You'd have to fix that first to pre-emptively work against it. At the moment people are at the whim of the contractors and that means there's mafia-style abuse (like the one mentioned in the Süddeutsche article) or actual fair practices (also mentioned in the article). In either case mistreatment and actual wage slavery is illegal and while that remains so in all EU countries I don't see how this reflects back on the EU as being 'natural' to it.
As I see it is: It's more an open criticism of yours of German industrial practices and in part a lack of laws and enforcement of these rather than EU critics because if the EU were to fix it for all it would mean more centralization - something you are as I recall quite very opposed to.

[Cybran]

As I see it is: It's more an open criticism of yours of German industrial practices and in part a lack of laws and enforcement of these rather than EU critics because if the EU were to fix it for all it would mean more centralization - something you are as I recall quite very opposed to.

I don't care about your industrial practices, I just want us out of the EU. It's rigged against the new states and it hurts our economies and citizens.

[Mayhem]

I don't care about your industrial practices, I just want us out of the EU. It's rigged against the new states and it hurts our economies and citizens.

so you´re from romania?

[Zka]

I was going to post this in the other thread, but It got locked. This is another example of the true nature of the European Union and how it caters only to certain countries while exploiting others.

Wow, that's dumb. I wonder why that tread got locked :P

Exploits like this are usually organized for people who cannot speak the language of the foreign country. They are easy prey because they don't know the law and cannot get help from local authorities. Also, it's usually organized by their own fellow countrymen. I know this phenomenon very well, lots of hungarians who cannot speak german are hired by hungarians living in germany and they get ripped off in the end. I bet it's the same in romania as well.

[Deleted]

The fact that it's not illegal.

Stealing documents, breach of contract and threatening to kill people is not illegal?

[Ravenblade]

I don't care about your industrial practices, I just want us out of the EU. It's rigged against the new states and it hurts our economies and citizens.

Then you chose a poor setting because all you involuntarily did was emphasizing the negative effects of indentured servitude and lack of minimum wages paired with mafia-style abuses. If you had taken your time and read the Süddeutsche article and then read the comments you'd have noticed that there's no short of blaming the previous SPD/Greens govt. making way to these practices and the current govt. not doing anything to reverse it. A lot people are in fact blaming their own consumer behaviour instead of the EU. The inward spiral is headed to hypocritical consumer behaviour (always wanting to buy cheap while complaining about too low wages in general) and apathy but not towards how incomplete EU laws are.

The EU may be 'rigged against new states'. Again I am not sure whether there's some inherent malice at work unless we have some substantial proof for it at work. The EU expanded faster than it reformed its laws. Take for example the agrarian laws. Their practices have been criticized since it was still EEC and when I still went to school. But the recent expansion gave it a new momentum because a lot of the new states had structures virtually incompatible with the the existing ones streamlined towards mass production and mass consumption. There was no place for national characteristics, for ecological or small-scale farms. This may change with the reforms they have finally agreed to yesterday.

But you essentially opened two topics with this.

PS:
“As long as there are slaughterhouses there will always be battlefields.” - Leo Tolstoy

[Deleted]

I wouldn't go as far on the blame game as the OP on EUs part, but this is regionwide. I've seen it in Finland, and heard of it south of the pond in Estonia. Organized crime abusing cracks in the system and the system turning a blind eye to the plight of the proletariat. Oh wait

[Deleted]

I don't care about your industrial practices, I just want us out of the EU. It's rigged against the new states and it hurts our economies and citizens.

Would gladly see Romania + Bulgaria kicked out of the Union. There's nothing positive about these countries, they are generally corrupt and a bunch of thiefs. I have no idea how they managed to enter the union in the first place.

As for your "slave" labor bs that shit happens everywhere. I don't think it's legal, as local laws usually prevent slave labor, and even if you were outside the EU it would still be happening. Powerful people exploit less powerful people all the time. The products you buy from asia also a high tendency to be made from slave labor, yet you don't complain about that?

[Cybran]

Would gladly see Romania + Bulgaria kicked out of the Union. There's nothing positive about these countries, they are generally corrupt and a bunch of thiefs. I have no idea how they managed to enter the union in the first place.

The reason we got in is, because the EU wanted to limit the influence of Russia in Europe.

As for your "slave" labor bs that shit happens everywhere. I don't think it's legal, as local laws usually prevent slave labor, and even if you were outside the EU it would still be happening. Powerful people exploit less powerful people all the time. The products you buy from asia also a high tendency to be made from slave labor, yet you don't complain about that?

http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking...f&fileType=pdf

In relation to standard Danish conditions, the wage level was consistently low in all three
sectors. Many respondents, particularly in the green sector and the cleaning industry, were
underpaid or paid late. Some were paid just DKK 30–45 an hour – in one case as little as
DKK 15 per hour – for piece-rate work. Very low wages and insecure income conditions are
particularly widespread among migrant workers employed via staffing agencies and among
those “posted abroad”. Through what is known as “posting abroad”, a company registered
outside Denmark can be commissioned to carry out a specific assignment (contract), and the
company then supplies workers (either hourly waged or piece-rate workers) at wages that
match what they would be paid in their country of origin – Poland, Lithuania or Romania, for
example. This means that foreign workers in Denmark can, in reality, be paid at Lithuanian
or Romanian rates. This challenges the Danish collective bargaining agreement model and
forces the wage level down to a previously unheard-of level in relation to standard Danish
conditions. For example, a number of staffing agencies state that they can supply foreign
workers for DKK 80 per hour, all inclusive – i.e. including transport, holiday pay, etc. – and
some even advertise their capacity, on a trial basis, to deliver workers who cannot speak
English for as little as DKK 60 per hour. After deduction of expenses – principally the staffing
agency’s profits – the foreign workers are usually left with only half, or even less, of the
hourly rate. This often translates into an hourly wage of just DKK 30–40

Denmark is one of the countries that exploits the most foreign workers. People are boycotting Chinese firms that abuse workers and it's time to start boycotting your abusive country as well.

[Stir]

Denmark is one of the countries that exploits the most foreign workers. People are boycotting Chinese firms that abuse workers and it's time to start boycotting your abusive country as well.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why so many Romanian workers get exploited like that?
Here's a hint: Because the Romanian poverty class is exceptionally large. Romania is, for many members of its populace, a shit-hole, and those poor workers are left with no other choice than to enter into shady, abusive and exploitative business 'agreements.'

So maybe if you want to keep your 'Forrinners Dunnit' stance a bit more fairly, you might want to take a look at the stuff happening inside your borders.

[Cybran]

Have you ever stopped to wonder why so many Romanian workers get exploited like that?
Here's a hint: Because the Romanian poverty class is exceptionally large. Romania is, for many members of its populace, a shit-hole, and those poor workers are left with no other choice than to enter into shady, abusive and exploitative business 'agreements.'

So maybe if you want to keep your 'Forrinners Dunnit' stance a bit more fairly, you might want to take a look at the stuff happening inside your borders.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2266385.stm

What are the arguments in favour of enlargement?

Supporters say it is reuniting a continent divided by the Cold War, spreading stability and prosperity, expanding the single market, and giving Europe more weight on the world stage.

They also have a specific response to each of the above arguments against enlargement:

• Immigration helps drive economic growth, and the EU will be able to work with new member states to tackle organised crime and trafficking
• Cheaper labour is good for the economies of richer European nations - and it is better for them if companies relocate to Central Europe than to India or China
• The richer member states gain more from being members of a large single market than they pay out in transfers to the poorer countries

Even in 2007 it was know that these people would be exploited. The problem is in the EU that enables this behavior.