Geographies of labor (pillar III)
Particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, labor and employment relations in the German meat industry, especially with regard to migrant workers, have gained greater public attention and become subject to public debate. They are also subject to new political regulations: since 2021, occupational safety monitoring laws set forth, among other things, new rules for labor contracts and temporary work in the meat industry as well as increased oversight of occupational safety measures. Is this leading to the fundamental change in labor relations in the German meat industry that some have been calling for and others fear?
Against the backdrop of these new conditions, the subprojects in this building block focus on the organization of labor in the German meat industry. On the one hand, they will look at corporate strategies for implementing and dealing with the new statutes and, on the other hand, the question of change in labor and employment relations that, to date, have also been characterized by high levels of social uncertainty. The links between production relations, migration, gender, and family relationships as well as the legal status of dependent workers will be of special importance in our analyses.
Geographies of labor relations in the meat industry (subproject 3)
Coordinator: John Lütten, MA
The subproject looks at labor and production relations in the German meat industry, placing special emphasis on the situation of migrant workers from countries such as Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Their working and living conditions have often been characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and, more recently, they have become a subject of public debate—yet they have barely been broadly and systematically researched. How exactly, then, do production structures, migration, and state regulations work together in the meat industry? And to what extent do they divide employees by, for example, origin, gender, family status, and qualifications?
The project uses findings in the sociology of labor, labor geography, and migration research. Based on the respective concrete production relations and their organization, we will analyze the relationship between corporate strategies, migration regimes, and state regulation in an international labor market. The project will focus on different dimensions of potentially uncertain work and living conditions, the ways they are subjectively understood, and possible related conflicts.
Company strategies and the “Arbeitsschutzkontrollgesetz” (subproject 4)
Coordinator: Marwaa Zazai, MSc, MEd
During the coronavirus pandemic, outbreaks of the infection in German meat plants created a great public stir. The scandal threw conflicts over types of work, working conditions, and questions of occupational safety into high relief. The occupational safety act (Arbeitsschutzkontrollgesetz, ASKG) that went into effect in 2021 includes a collection of measures focused on new regulations for temporary work and independent contractor agreements. However, the way that corporations implement the act and the consequences for, for example, working relationships, working conditions, and work organization remain to be studied.
Therefore, this subproject will take a look at corporate strategies in different operational contexts for dealing with the work-related regulations. Corporate action will be viewed as a response to the new legal framework. For the research, it will be important to look at actors within the different hierarchies of the corporation (e.g., at leadership and management levels) and their decisions and decision-making processes with regard to implementing and realizing the ASKG. We will also look at the differences between decisions in specific situations and their impact. Overall, we want to identify relevant positions and strategies that vitally impact work and production relations as well as working conditions. This will also allow us to better understand (new) processes of fragmentation in the organization of labor and personnel.