Continuities of exploitation: seasonal migrant workers in German agriculture during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Seasonal migrant agricultural workers were declared 'essential' in Germany at the very outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two harvest seasons later, continuing poor working conditions, infection outbreaks on farms, and a general exclusion from social security schemes show that the recognition of the 'essential' character of the job has not translated into any improvements for workers.Based on interviews with trade union-affiliated counsellors for migrant workers across Germany and analysis of the policies and legal measures introduced during the pandemic, this article demonstrates how pre-existing institutional structures of exploitation in relation to seasonal agricultural work have been not only sustained but also reinforced. INTRODUCTIONAgricultural work in the Global North is to a large extent carried out by migrant (often seasonal) workers. 1 It is an example of intensive and often racialized

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