background
At least twelve euros per hour for everyone: that’s the idea behind the mandatory minimum wage. But promises have their gaps. Employers have tricks they can use to undermine the minimum wage.
Frankfurt, Tuesday morning: Civilian customs vehicles are heading to one of the city’s largest construction sites – where the financial watchdog is conducting a raid on illegal work. “We are investigating alleged breaches of work contracts,” said Arne Niestrath of Frankfurt’s main customs office. All threads are with him. But it’s not just suspicion. They now have to control 260 people, as well as on-site management. On site, the first step is to collect all personal data and check construction documents.
After that, officials will need several days to assess everything. If they had recorded everyone, word would have spread quickly about the control of the construction site, and then “workers would sometimes disappear into a hiding place,” Niestrath explained. “They know the way here better than we do.” When he said this, the frustration resonated.
Advice for those seeking help
Antonio(name changed by editor). He didn’t want to say where he worked or his real name. He was one of the few who ended up finding a Fair Mobility counseling centre.
The advice center for workers in Eastern and Central Europe is affiliated with the German Trade Union Confederation. She provides information on labor rights and offers support in times of conflict. Antonio’s native tongue is liberal; he doesn’t know yet whether he will have the courage to demand his rights from his employer.
one Unfathomable authority
Antonio was never caught at the customs inspection. Does he think this is a good thing or a bad thing? he does not know. He has no employment contract and no set working hours. And he is not paid by the hour, but by the square meter. Sometimes it’s 3.50 euros, sometimes it’s 5 euros per hour, extrapolating from his working hours. But then he admitted the check “could have helped him”. But control has declined over the past decade: from nearly 63,000 to nearly 53,000 a year nationwide. One reason: lack of staff.
But that’s not all, criticizes Frank Buckenhofer, who runs customs for the police union. He spoke of the “patchwork” of authorities. “Customs has basically organized itself as a patchwork – and that’s a big problem – without any real leverage.” He called for an overarching financial police with appropriate powers.
Often violated the law many times
Violations of the minimum wage rarely come in isolation. Tax evasion, wage withholding, social security contributions: you must scrutinize financial controls for undeclared work. It will take them several days to compare the data recorded at the Frankfurt construction site with other authorities.
Preliminary statistics: 179 people violated the minimum wage standard, 71 people pretended to be self-employed, and 4 people worked illegally. Sounds like a success – but with a national clearance rate of less than 0.5 per cent, the system’s weaknesses are obvious.
scammed three million people
According to a survey by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), between 750,000 and more than 3 million employees have been scammed out of their money. “The scope is so wide because illegal activity is so difficult to record,” says DIW’s Johannes Seebauer. Moreover, the number of jobs in low-wage sectors has actually decreased since the introduction of the minimum wage. Increase. It affects mini-staff, students, pensioners and people who don’t speak German.
For Antonio, the employer’s breach meant fewer pension contributions, less sick pay and less holiday pay. At least officially. He had never heard of vacation pay, and was not paid when he was sick. Now he wants to find another job on a construction site. This time he wants to focus on his own rights. Finding something new wasn’t hard, because workers like him are desperately needed right now.
digital capture may help
Digital capture won’t make it impossible to cheat the minimum wage, but it will make it more difficult. The example of a brewery in Oberursel shows this. Anyone who has started work can enroll – whether permanent or casual. With nearly 80 employees, the digital clock only gives landlord Thomas Studanski an edge: “There was always a discussion before, ‘I’ve been working there for so long, I’ve been working so long’ . That’s gone. And he also Sees an advantage to his operation: He no longer has to fill out time sheets.
This should be comprehensive, but far from it. Just €10 in cash instead of the minimum wage of €12: this is not only in catering and construction. Wage dumping is a widespread phenomenon and the industries affected are too numerous to list.