Policy recommendations for national, regional and local stakeholders for the agricultural and delivery sector in Germany.

Martina Liebsch, Markus Rheindorf, Beatrice Bianca Salamena, and Bastian Vollmer

Within the I-Claim Research in Germany, the general findings of the ethnographic research point to a targeted exploitation of migrant groups who are disadvantaged through certain characteristics (e.g. young age coupled with lack of information and/or living in precarity in Germany or in the country of origin). These concrete mechanisms of targeting and exploiting vulnerable and disadvantaged migrant groups applied in both sectors, namely agriculture and delivery. Notably, the research concludes that most migrants in Germany who take up legal or semi-legal employment hold some form of legal residence permit (international student visa in the case of the delivery sector, EU-Citizens in the case of seasonal workers in the agricultural sector). Moreover, for seasonal workers in agriculture from third countries the access is currently limited to Moldovans and Georgians.

These findings show that legal residence status alone does not protect against exploitation; instead, sector-specific structures and recruitment pathways generate vulnerability even among workers with regular permits. The hereafter presented recommendations are meant to counteract these mechanisms and support the access to rights.