Those were the two questions that took center stage on Tuesday (September 26, 2023) during a movie night at the CAPITOL Film Theater in Mainz, which included a panel discussion. Mainz University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with the Hugo Sinzheimer Institute for Labor and Social Law (HSI) of the Hans Böckler Foundation, screened Ken Loach’s film “Sorry, We Missed You.” The film addresses the precarious working conditions in the package delivery and caregiving sectors, as well as their impact on the life of an ordinary family in England. About 100 guests accepted the invitation to the first installment of the “Work in Film” series.
Following the screening, representatives of the state parliamentary groups in Rhineland-Palatinate (Daniel Köbler – B’90/The Greens; Michael Simon – SPD; Torsten Welling – CDU) discussed the situation of package delivery in Germany with Andreas Schumann (Chair of the Federal Association of Courier, Express, and Postal Services), Corinne Schneider (ver.di), and Piotr Mazurek (sector coordinator for courier and parcel services and advisor at the DGB advisory network “Faire Mobilität”) about the state of parcel delivery in Germany. Mazurek began by reporting on the sometimes egregious violations of labor law that he encounters in his daily consulting practice. The panelists then agreed that there are grievances regarding working conditions in the industry—even if the extent of these grievances is naturally assessed differently by the employers’ association than by the unions. There were also differing views regarding the means to improve conditions: While Schumann pointed to the consistent and comprehensive further development of existing regulations and proposed, for example, the use of digital tachographs and collective bargaining in the industry, Schneider reaffirmed ver.di’s demand for a ban on contract-for-service agreements in the core area of the industry’s operations—namely, package delivery—to ensure clear responsibilities and transparency. On the political side, Simon and Köbler also spoke out clearly in favor of such a measure, and Welling likewise expressed strong support for such a solution, provided that no less drastic regulation could be found.
To provide legal context for the proposal, Anneliese Kärcher and Prof. Dr. Manfred Walser from Mainz University of Applied Sciences briefly presented their study—commissioned by the HSI—on the compatibility of such a direct-employment requirement in package delivery with constitutional and EU law.
Dr. Amélie Sutterer-Kipping from the HSI moderated the evening. Prof. Dr. Susanne Weissman, President of Mainz University of Applied Sciences, delivered the opening remarks.
The next event in the film series will take place on March 18, 2024, on the occasion of Equal Pay Day, at the LUX Pavilion at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. The film “WE WANT SEX” by Nigel Cole, which focuses primarily on women’s working conditions, will be screened.
The study on the constitutional and European legal compliance of a direct employment requirement in package delivery is available here.
