Cheap meat cheap work in Germany

For tens of thousands of Eastern European workers in Germany’s largest slaughterhouse for pigs, a day’s work often involves unpaid overtime, cramped living conditions, and no compensation for sickness or injury. They are toiling under intolerable conditions that leave them beaten down by a system of exploitation. The meat processing industry in Germany, like many others, use subcontractors to hire their workers rather than employ them directly, allowing them to dodge their obligation to comply with labor regulations.

The documentary “Exploitation at Its Worst: The Truth About Germany’s Meat Processing Industry” goes undercover to expose the sector’s harsh working conditions, bringing to the fore unheard stories of exploitation, as well as the damage that these labor practices could bring. Watch as Lavinia Pitu, a seasoned journalist, speaks with two Romanians who came to work in Germany and their terrible treatment at the hands of subcontractors, further highlighting the shocking truth about Germany’s meat processing industry.