Sclavia românilor pe plantațiile germane

Romanian farmworkers stuck in Germany during pandemic

Stephanie Höppner

 

19 hrs ago

Anca, a 39-year-old who does not want to be photographed or use her real name for publication, has been waiting for the pay owed to her and other seasonal workers from Romania who had picked strawberries and asparagus at a farm that has gone bankrupt in in the town of Bornheim, near the western German city of Bonn. Now, a solution seems in sight. The Romanian consul has spoken with the workers, given them a meal and some money — and, most importantly, promised to help. "He said that we should trust him," she said, "and not be so worried."

It was Tuesday when Anca found out that the Romanian consul was ready to give his support. She and her colleagues had spent several uncertain days. They demonstrated in the center of Bonn with members of the Free Workers' Union. The anarcho-syndicalist labor organization and other sympathetic Germans have sided with the Romanian workers. Journalists have thronged to the farm, worried neighbors are looking on, and mainstream unions are assessing the confusing situation.

© Provided by dw.com

The workers had been employed by the farm during previous seasons: Anca said the owner had always looked after them well. But, this year, things changed. The farm is now being supervised by a trustee. "We didn't know that the company was bankrupt when we came," Anca said. The employees traveled to the farm and were called on to work to ensure a good harvest for any new potential investor.

But the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated the problems. Restaurants and hotels stayed closed, meaning that the demand for asparagus dropped dramatically. The farm's creditors decided to stop the asparagus harvest, while the picking of strawberries was reduced — along with the numbers of workers.

Dramatic consequences

Even though she had come from Romania on a contract for three months starting at the beginning of March, Anca was one of the workers cut. She and other seasonal workers at the farm say they have not received full pay for their labor so far. "I'm still down about €1,200 ($1,315)," she said. Others have told her that they have only received €150 — or, in some cases, €5 — for a whole month's work. To make things worse, the employers have deducted more money than expected for accommodation and food, the workers say.

"The rice was still half-frozen and not cooked through," Anca said. "Some of the salami for breakfast was off. We weren't allowed to eat leftovers in the kitchen; there was always just one portion for each person." It is difficult for the workers to do their own shopping: They are housed in the middle of nowhere — near a sewage treatment plant and far away from any supermarket. She said the prefab huts that the employer had provided were acceptable, if a bit old. "It's not like home," she said. The high heaps of garbage piled up outside the huts made that clear.

Read more: 5 million coronavirus cases worldwide recorded by May 21

Workers need every penny they earn. "Many of us have families, children, debts," Anca said. She has four children and other family members to provide for.

Many lack the money to travel home. Romanian Labor Minister Violeta Alexandru, who came to Germany to see the situation for herself on Wednesday, has promised to help out. That assistance could prove urgent: It is not clear how long the workers will be permitted to stay in the lodgings provided for them by the farm. There are rumors that electricity and water will soon be cut off to force out the harvest hands who have nowhere else to go but are no longer employed.