Brussels, 19/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - Belgium will be submitting a complaint to the European Commission to denounce low wages and poor working conditions in the German meat sector. The Belgian government believes that employing foreign workers in Germany is done in “inadmissible and undignified conditions” and is tantamount to social dumping and subsequently distorts competition with the Belgian meat sector.
Two Belgian ministers, Johan Vande Lanotte (economy) and Monica De Coninck (employment), travelled to Hanover on Monday 18 March, to meet local political and union leaders, following allegations made by Belgian companies. The Belgian authorities and companies have criticised the fact that jobs in Germany are occupied by workers from eastern European countries, the majority of whom are Romanian and Bulgarian, who work for three or four euro an hour, 60 hours a week. The cost of processing the meat can, then, be up to 3 times cheaper for German companies.
The two Belgian ministers emphasise that no European legislation is being infringed. Although the Commission will be questioned about the case, this will be to encourage the EU to denounce “undignified practices”, such as the employment of what are, legally, posted workers but who, in reality, are carrying out permanent jobs but without any social protection. This question has already been debated at Council of the EU level but countries have proved unable to agree on the technical aspects for strengthening the existing directive on posted workers (see EUROPE 10742).
Belgium also criticised the fact that no minimum wage exists in Germany. However, as pointed out by Jonathan Todd, the spokesman for Commissioner Laszlo Andor (employment) on Tuesday 19 March, the Commission has no legislative jurisdiction in this field. He did, however, underline that the Commission had already given its opinion on this issue (see EUROPE 10597), deeming that setting minimum wages helped to reduce the number of poor workers. It also deemed that the level chosen for these wages had to reflect productivity more effectively. Germany has been under question about its position in both of these cases. (JK/transl.fl)