German capitalism and migrant work in meat. How COVID allowed to break the path-dependent labour exploitation

Susanne K. Schmidt; Michael Blauberger

doi:10.5771/2566-7742-2023-1-50

Contents
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- Titelei/Inhaltsverzeichnis
- 1–5 The European Integration – limits and borders. Introduction to the special issue Stefan Immerfall, Vincent Gengnagel Stefan Immerfall, Vincent Gengnagel 1–5
- 6–151 Articles 6–151
  - 6–25 Equal treatment in the single market? Labour market opportunities for migrants with a European and a non-European background Martin Heidenreich Martin Heidenreich 6–25
  - 26–49 Running low on state-capacity: strengthening EU mobile workers’ rights by outsourcing enforcement? The role of advisory services in Germany Josephine Assmus Josephine Assmus 26–49
  - 50–73 German capitalism and migrant work in meat. How COVID allowed to break the path-dependent labour exploitation Susanne K. Schmidt, Michael Blauberger Susanne K. Schmidt, Michael Blauberger 50–73
  - 74–95 European Border and Coast Guard standing corps. The establishment of a European border police Isabel Hilpert Isabel Hilpert 74–95
  - 96–112 The (conceptions of) European identity of pupils in the border region of Rhineland-Palatinate Saskia Langer Saskia Langer 96–112
  - 113–126 Blind man’s buff: Losing contact while coping with the arrival situation Léa Bendele Léa Bendele 113–126
  - 127–151 The European Green Deal, its narrative of green politics for the next generation and the EU’s search for a stable telos Johannes Gerken Johannes Gerken 127–151
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Culture, Practice & Europeanization , page 50 - 73

German capitalism and migrant work in meat. How COVID allowed to break the path-dependent labour exploitation

Autoren

Susanne K. Schmidt Michael Blauberger

DOI
- doi.org/10.5771/2566-7742-2023-1-50
- ISSN online: 2566-7742
Abstract

Major COVID-19 outbreaks in slaughterhouses brought the extent of migrant labour exploitation in the German meat sector to the limelight. Adopting a historical-institutionalist perspective, we argue that the COVID-19 pandemic marked a critical juncture for migrant workers, albeit with highly contingent effects. Only in the meat sector could political salience enable a far-reaching policy response. By contrast, precisely to avoid any broader effects of the pandemic in terms of food supply, the social protection of seasonal workers was temporarily even lowered. While the reform’s precise effects remain to be seen, our comparative case study shows that member states have regulatory options to shape the effects of European integration. We understand the reform resistance and path dependence of the meat sector in the context of German capitalism’s export dependence. While undervaluation in the Euro regime is normally discussed as cause for wage restraint, underpaid migrant work as analysed in this paper appears as an additional explanation.
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