by Thorsten Koch

The meat industry sees emigration tendencies after the federal cabinet has decided to ban sub-contracts for this branch of industrie. Germany’s largest meat producer, Clemens Tönnies, had previously proposed combining a higher minimum wage with independent supervision of quarters for workers. Tönnies said he opposed the abolition of works contracts, adding that he expected European competitors to take over animal farming, slaughtering, and processing of meat.

The German Association of the Meat Industry also anticipates a migration of a large part of the meat industry. The farmers’ association made a similar statement.

Meanwhile, the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) has called for a European solution. Standards in the meat-producing industry should be discussed under the terms of fairness and equality in Europe. Söder spoke out against a meat tax and against price increases.

North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Labor Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU), on the other hand, said that he did not believe that Germany would be at risk as far as meat production was concerned. The country is competitive and strong with regard to animal breeding, he said.