it's a spiral of desperation. close up. next on t.w. . national drama competition wyvil marketing numbers atmosphere power fights at sac intuition love hate money millionaire fans friends fans fans and fans all to go off on you tube join us. several german meat packing plants was hit last year by the coronavirus thousands of workers were offended. if no one else in my melbourne ever go back to germany was as it was the worst experience i've ever had it's a bottle again aiming at. more than full mean romanians work in foreign countries

mostly in western europe many put in long hours for no ok some can visit their families only a few weeks a year. they're busy he has to earn money so that we can survive them cinna this group them. this has created a labor shortage in romania so many employers have hired workers from the asia they usually pay the minimum wage less than treaty rise palang they made all day is really hard work in. i mean you need to provide for my wife and son to give them a nice life that's why i came to romania.

in april 2020 joining a new wave of kofi cases in europe 25000 romanians left their homes to work in germany they took off from the airport inclusion in northern romania on special flights arranged by jemmy's agriculture ministry. among them is alberto google and his wife maria. i'm the one up with that one going to build up what i called all kinds of romanian companies to try to find a job when i got no response at that sam one moment then because of covert we have no food and no money. but now fortunately we're going to germany to work it is to go on. the average monthly wage for unskilled workers in romania is about $300.00 euros a month and these people would likely a lot move the numbers in germany the book went out the 1st 2 months on an

asparagus farm and then we'll go to work and a slaughter house but the future. knows he's running a risk of contracting coverage but he has to earn money. the average minimum wage in jimmy is just under 10 euros per hour that's more than 3 times what it is in romania. elisabetta most of our is also moving to germany that there's a good bet we'll try to protect ourselves against the virus so much of them but we have to work at the bottom i don't have a job here all my guests and everything in romania has been shut down because a covert all decimal glom there aren't many jobs here anyway and if you do find a job well it won't pay much kick out that is the day mugabe fought the slump but that. was.

bad for alberto and maria their 1st job in germany was a disaster but it's better to cell phone pitches that showed their living conditions. despite the plan to make workers live too close together in containers . that maria became ill. and here's a video of my wife it was cold outside and she had a headache and a favor and the container next door there were 4 romanian suspected of having covert all of youth. i'll bet i got into an argument with the supervisor iyam arena will then find it. will be like our cold war or so that were up in a week ago my wife and i were flown to germany to pick asparagus or you're open to it but i'm there are all armed force forces both by the company screwed us over tricked us ship. treated us like slaves school of it's.

that you can't just now the supervisor kicked us out you could to change it because that's so for the time being we'll have to sleep on a street with that i've lost a few days i'll bet i managed to find jobs for himself and his wife at a meat packing plant owned by the 2 news corp. we've come to the bavarian town of striving to meet eric mcconnell a romanian citizen who works for a nonprofit human rights organization nakano advises romanian my group workers on their legal rights and he says he's been flooded with calls from people who need his help. mcconnell says the working conditions for many romanians in germany are atrocious he provide some examples. we've got by the government for the hour right now are

some companies have threatened these workers zoom in for a fake or public with information about the business they're fired right away and they don't get to pay out on the middleman of one of many of the workers live in housing that the company provides dished out in and if they cause trouble that tossed out onto the street before that i was. that's what happened to al battle he was fired and he and his wife were forced to leave the company housing for. 3 days the couple slept in the woods well cano has heard lots of these stories in when asked what it is or not the company always does this at night because there are no lawyers or union officials around to minimize the giftes workers have heard of me they'll call if not they end up on the street at night with no money the workers want to keep their jobs so most of them don't complain next we travel to

a village in romania to meet elisabetta moldovan. that. elisabetta also had a hard time while working in germany she'd been employed at the same strawberry farm for several months every year since 2010. for 2 months of work she was paid 3700 euros but in 2020 she came back a much earlier than expected and without any money. oh. hi there you surely are busy that albert. i know you are just calling we'd say. elisabetta sister in law georgina also works occasionally in foreign countries most recently as a nurse in italy but she lost that job because of the pandemic. i

thought you were doing fine in germany with a good showing and suddenly there you were on the web and on t.v. and you're talking to a labor minister what was that all about. but there was thought well we organized a protest demonstration. along with the owner and the minister violetta alexandru came to visit us at the farm in germany. and the other workers who paid only a fraction of what they'd been promised son nothing so 150 harvest workers most of them from romania held a protest march the demonstration called the attention of from a nice labor minister. to probably now he wanted to find out why we hadn't been paid and then she asked me why did you go to germany in the 1st place did someone

force you to go on a so i looked at her and said well minister i had to leave because i had no other way to earn money. i couldn't find a job in romania she does that she came on my own. elisabetta worked a local cotton factory for 50 years then she lost her job in this part of romania it's nearly impossible to find work the pays well so now elisabetta looks after the household and her grandchildren. as like us this is our house with the doormen shot my husband and i got a loan from the bank and started building in 2007. we had to go to germany to work so that we could make the long payments but. she says there will be on our street you'll see 2 new houses 8 lots of people here get a bank loan and then go off to work in germany england italy or other countries to

make the payments got angry i tell ya i'll pick up this line at that there's a bus that when she left. romania's population is just to have a 90000000 about 9000000 people have jobs. 4000000 votes people work abroad during the summer and that number can rise to 5000000 as people take seasonal jobs on farms or at construction sites. the minimum wage in romania is 2 euro $81.00 an hour that wages higher and many western european countries. for example it's 9 euros $35.00 in germany and in france it's 10 year i 15. we've come to this village in southern romania to visit alberto. he's just come

back from germany and fears he may have been infected with corona virus. which is self isolation right now he says his work in a german meat packing plant was a nightmare. if not of my mother i'll never go back to germany not even when the pandemic is over which and it was the worst experience i've ever had. alberto was working at a plant owned by the junior school to ration more than 1500. they were infected with cause it including some of his colleagues the speeches of the facility were taken to full of the outbreak. mephitic a cinch m.f. i was scared to tell you the truth i knew that the virus was dangerous and i was and i was right in the middle of it at work. when you're carrying around a 50 kilograms slab of meat you can't keep

a social distance so everyone was in close contact with each other and we had to keep working i was so scared but i felt sick when i told my mosque that i wanted to stay home i also wanted to talk to a doctor from michael he said you're not going anywhere what it was. a few days before the plant was forced to close alberto boom town and went back to romania but his wife continued to work there as long as she could. i. i left because i was so afraid of getting sick will never be with my wife wanted to stay to keep earning money despite the risk to her health and i. mean even manias who worked in the gym a meat packing industry had gone to eric mcconnell for help then why did the company will punish them for speaking out so we agreed not to show their faces. to

. the french mirage is a sign of it that i don't wish that the companies promised big wages up to 2000 euros a month or not but they also promised normal working hours just a good idea was done for. when the new workers arrive at the plant they find out of they'll have to work 12 sometimes even 16 hours a day. you know and then the resigned company housing of 56 or even 10 people to a room and. mcconnell meets with the were. because in public places away from the prying eyes of the bosses. when you meet i think it's the mood when a worker finally gets the courage to complain to a supervisor he's in for a rough time and how defensive they'll tell him keep your mouth shut otherwise you're out the door if it's going to threaten to withhold the workers' pay for to slap them with

a fine because they can find someone to replace them right away. she called you should this kind of psychological pressure amounts to modern day slavery was my. elisabetta song powell also wants to work in germany in spite of the pandemic. powell is 20 years old and still lives with his parents he has a job but it doesn't pay very well. if it is here if i go to germany i'll miss my parents and my girlfriend a lot. more and i even worry that my girlfriend believe me but at least i'll be earning good money. pals neighbor patron works in a german meat packing plant he's taking a few days off so he can visit his family in town has lots of questions about it

just. do it out there also tell me what are the conditions like. what sort of work do you do and how many hours a day. 3 of them at the door. and i work in the store to house a couple neck meat from 4500 pigs a day sounds like a tough job with. what kids you can't understand why powell would want to go into germany to work. often wake up at night because i think i hear my child crying will come with part of course is just a dream. pretty bad if i could find a job here quite staggering when i'm with. elizabeth his brother also works in a german meat packing plant for many romanians taking jobs like that is the only way that they can provide for their families. they're both fucking the i'm really worried brother and his wife and the children have been diagnosed with covered.

they haven't answered their phone for 2 weeks. and now her son powell also wants to go to germany to work. i wish he wouldn't not this year anyway not while we're still dealing with a pandemic. if you went to germany i worry all the time. that there are. so many local residents have left clues did some businesses who brought in workers from asia to fill the gap and usually worked at low paying jobs. these men from sri lanka came to romania in late 29 tain all of them are unskilled workers. including 39 year old.

sri lanka to look forward to the age of 18 he married and had a son he hasn't seen his family for more than a. that was my wife just now i'll go upstairs where the signals better and then i'll call her back. i sure could cut down his expenses so that he can afford a good internet connection for these calls he also sends money home. he gets by on the equivalent of about 100 euros a month it's a hard life but the cools with his family make it worthwhile. i want to see them and talk to them every day. when i see my son's face i feel

a little better. it helps me relax and the tension inside me just goes away. sugar has worked in kuwait dubai and singapore his life there wasn't much better than a decent now i don't know what would happen to them if i died. but as long as i'm alive i'll try to help my family. all work hard. i don't need a lot in life. but i will provide a good life for my song and my wife. i'll keep trying. that's why i came to romania. meanwhile there's good news and bad thrill is a better. for has been sultan has found a new job despite the corona pandemic but he'll have to leave the country again. my poor husband is going to france again to work in construction he can't earn

a living violin or india and we need the money so early yeah so what else should i pack my agent and take the shorts was ok. to overalls and i think that's all. that. it's always hard to say go bikes specifier be sent them plenty by hope that you'll be ok that's the guns but i'm so afraid that this time something bad is going to happen. i'm also worried about the virus but i'll do everything i can to feed my family. elizabeth and salter know that they have no other option.

meanwhile back inclusion the shift of the commercial kitchen where shoka works is upset the employees from sri lanka haven't shown up for work yet. here are 2 of them on their way to a bank that hadn't been paid in several days so they've gone on strike. today people are going to work because we haven't gotten our salary yet. my family is waiting for the money i'm going to check my account right now to show currency equivalent of about 400 euros a month he needs his money and is ready to fight for it. i keep checking my account over and over again. that. things aren't going well. i can't sleep they won't send the money so we won't go to

work things like i gave so i know if it is the family's injury like i you know. we have some programs that when we came here a friend know it was going to be one that's all you want on your right. meanwhile zoltan will leave for the airport in about an hour. it is time to feed the pigs one last time. fathers' it with you my wife will take care of the animals while i'm gone when i want that. zoltan plans to work in france until november during that time who come back home several times to visit. you it's hard for me to leave my family i guess that but i have to go to france to earn money i made. while i'm there i won't be able to see my grandchildren my wife and my son. and that makes me

very sad it is. that since romania joined the e.u. in 2007 zoltan and elisabetta have been working abroad on and off. now it's time to say goodbye once again. on its own terms friends will take him to the airport. he's on his way to the friend's house right now. the best that i understand that he has to leave to earn money for us when turbot be here in a couple of months and we won't be able to work at all just. that conclusion a sure because salary has finally been deposited in his bank account so he and his colleagues headed off to work there for our one slice and they hope that they won't be fired. the sugar works $10.00 to $12.00 ounce

a day for less than 3 years so now it. is there's the meat that i work with it's beef and if i have to cut it up and make hamburger patties it's really hard work we have to turn out 30 or $35.00 kilos of meat every day that's all i do on this job but it is. and today he'll have to make up for the 4 hours that he lost while he was on strike. it is a work here every day in the burger prep section we really have to prepare a lot of meat we make patties every day to. keep from asia have now filled a number of unskilled shops in romania most of them are employed in the case ring meat packing and construction sectors. the number of asian workers romania has risen sharply in recent years most of the

illegally illegally. here at the official statistics and 2015 romania issued 5500 work visas so people from asia in 2018 that number rose to 15000 and by 2020 that figure had doubled 230000 despite the pandemic. we visit out there to google again he knows that his wife is healthy but is now in quarantine. i'll bet her friends a colleague who became infected with the virus while he was working at the meat packing plant. people were getting sick one after another. the company bosses kept us working even though a lot of people were getting sick. if the authorities and the media had stepped in or they'd still be working on the ground. and those who can't

understand why his colleagues still wants to stay in germany. with. my own father my father. eric mcconnell is on his way to northern germany to help to romanians who want to apply for government legal aid lawsuits in the meat packing industry are increasingly common these days. a man defects in short the work has changed over the years for 10 or 20 years ago you had a qualified foreman at the slaughterhouse your grandmother's is going on tom people were paid a decent wage and worked just 8 hours a day that is go up there i shake them there were 3 shifts sometimes 4 and management respected the workers. is that's not the case today let's begin. in the last decade the number of unskilled foreign workers in the german meat packing industry has tripled 285-0000.

back into a shock and his colleagues have just finished their shift it's 1 in the morning. go to a red hot one it was tough today because we were really busy afterwards we had to clean up so we didn't finish until midnight when there were just 4 of us then we went out for a beer and now we're heading home. shoka had to pay an employment agency in sri lanka a 2000 euro commission to get a 2 year work permit. it's often the same father of remaining here. all of us had to borrow money to pay the fee. and some borrowed from their families but i borrowed money from a bank. so now i have to pay interest on the loans. and send money to my

family. most of the money to show to enjoy in the 1st 6 months in romania went to pay back the employment agency so he couldn't afford to send money to his family. meanwhile would manage to track down all those who google again has moved to another country. i'm now in my own moves sweden doing handy work. we get up at 5 every morning and then the company takes us to work in a bus. it's sort of like a hardware store. people come in and tell us what they want renovated or repaired and then we do it but it pays only $1000.00 euros a month. alberto doesn't know when you return home or how his wife in germany is getting along. at the same time elizabeth is

waiting for her husband's old time to cool down from his new job in france. he's been there for food has now. jimmy. what do i want for the future here's the lethal. sufi but i want the whole family to be together but then sunday because i want them to find jobs here in romania so the jobs that pay an honest wage so that we don't have to move to foreign countries to work i was lying about that. that my sweetie. i was waiting for your call that the time i can't wait to see you in 6 weeks i miss you so much already.

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is news coming to you live from berlin germany is in a new pandemic that's the assessment from chance after coronavirus crisis talks dragged well into the morning and state leaders have agreed to a strict shutdown our correspondent will break down all the details coming up. urgently needed aid.