FAU-IAA, Direct Action #231 - "This is an important victory"
-- An update on the ongoing struggle regarding the Mall of Berlin
(de) (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
The long-running struggle against exploitation in the Mall of Berlin has now reached a
critical stage, with court cases beginning against the bosses of the construction
companies that refused to pay migrant workers. Our members, who were employed in the
construction of the mall and have still not received a penny for their labour, have begun
to exert legal force against their bosses, and have received some validation from the
courts. ---- The first lawsuits were filed at the beginning of the year ---- On August
5th, a decisive victory was won in the Magdeburger Platz court, as a judge ruled against
the contractor openmallmaster GmbH, and in favour of two of our members, who are now
officially owed their wages by their bosses. This amended a sentence from April 2015, to
which openmallmaster GmbH had objected. They are now legally compelled to pay our members.
The workers are now due to receive 1226 euros and 4411 euros respectively, a sum
calculated to their declared earnings of the time, which were between 5 and 6 euros per
hour. In response to the award of a value equivalent to poverty wages, the FAU has now
further demanded that the court should award an equivalent to the standarised and agreed
minimum wage in the construction sector at the time during which our members were employed.
Markus, the secretary of the FAU in Berlin, was upbeat about the decision, and took it as
a vindication of the militant tactics used in fighting for the rights of migrant workers.
"This success shows that where a militant perspective exists, an alternative to shameless
exploitation can be found in a fighting union". He added: "This is an important victory,
particularly because it shows that impoverished migrant workers are not as easy targets as
bosses think they are, and are also capable of fighting legally for their rights".The
trial itself was a humiliation for openmallmaster GmbH. They had previously insisted that
none of the migrant workers had ever worked for them, a claim made dubious by the ability
of the workers themselves to describe working practices and procedures on the building
site. The openmallmaster lawyer sat in silence as our members proved him wrong. He then
set out to claim that a worker without a permanent residence was unable to enact court
proceedings against his company, a claim which was denied by the court, who made it clear
that, even if a plaintiff had no permanent residence, that did not impinge on their
ability to mount legal proceedings.
Demonstration of the FAU-Berlin in December 2014
The Mall of Berlin, which opened in late 2014, is a temple to shopping and consumerism,
but a temple built on exploitation. Since the mall first began trading in Leipziger Platz,
a group of migrant workers have been protesting against it, often in the freezing cold and
snow. Their resolve and commitment to achieving justice has been inspiring. The workers
came into contact with the FAU in Berlin, and began to build a wider campaign, resulting
in large demonstrations in front of the 1 billion euros Mall of Berlin - now entitled the
"Mall of Shame" - and extensive coverage in German and international press. The 30
workers, who are all Romanian, were recruited from building sites around Europe, and
brought to Berlin with the promise of stable employment and secured housing. Instead they
found themselves working illegally, without proper contracts or documentation, and
sleeping rough in the streets. Workers were told that they were not allowed to register in
Germany, a legal requirement to work or find an apartment. When they protested this, they
were told that they could register, but that it would cost them 150 euros, a prohibitively
large sum. The actual price for that is - nothing! The workers were also threatened by
staff when they protested against their poverty conditions, and journalists who set out to
cover the story were also intimidated.
The working conditions within the building site were similarly sub-standard, with poor
sanitary conditions and little regard for safety procedures and fire protection. The fire
protection issue was so great that, in the lead-up to the vital Christmas business period,
the Mall came to the brink of closure, as studies revealed glaring lapses in fire safety
standards, which were rectified at the last moments, allowing the shopping centre to
remain open.Openmallmaster GmbH, the company against this most recent court victory was
won, is just one of a patchwork of contractors, sub-contractors and dubious front
companies involved with the construction of the Mall. Whilst Harald Huth, the major
financier of the Mall of Berlin, can still call himself "The King of Leipziger Platz",
some of the companies he delegated duties in building the shopping centre to, are not as
successful. Some have declared bankruptcy rather than face the courts in regards to unpaid
workers and safety deficiencies, whereas others flatly deny ever having employed our
members. The FAU continues to fight on for the rights of our members from the Mall of
Berlin, and for the rights of migrant workers everywhere. We call upon all interested
parties to get involved in the campaign, either by attending a working group meeting, by
attending the court dates in person to show solidarity, or by publicising the cases of our
members within your own circles. Updates on the case are published on the FAU Berlin
website, alongside the dates of the upcoming court cases.
Foreigners' Section / FAU Berlin
https://www.direkteaktion.org/231/important-victory-mall-of-berlin
