Transnational posted worker organization in the German meatpacking sector

The EU free movement of labour and services has facilitated the growth of a transnational posted worker labour force within the European market. The way the EU politics of mobility is set up allows employers to undermine national industrial relations systems and shield their practices from national regulation. The general debate on organizing these workers has mostly focused on the challenges for unions organized along national lines. There are few studies about independent resistance practices of posted workers or non-unionized forms of resistance. I will analyze the organizational experience of transnational posted workers in the meat-packing industry in the German context. The case study illustrates how Eastern European posted workers were able to, with the help of a community initiative and media attention, claim their rights to better pay, better housing and social benefits. Using data from group discussions and in-depth interviews with workers, industrial relations actors and policy interviews I explore the ways and mechanisms used by these hyper-mobile workers to claim their rights. I will make the case that although cases of independent posted worker resistance remain marginal possibilities to do so exists but they might not be part of the traditional form of worker organization within the German context. The proposed paper will seek to develop initial findings.