Labor conflict ended: 12.000 euros won at DHL subcontractor WorKings!

After a long time, our labor conflict about wage fraud at WorKings is as good as over. WorKings is a subcontractor that recruited and employed workers for the DHL parcel center in Staufenberg near Kassel. WorKings withheld part of the wages of the 24 employees affected over a period of several months. With our support, they had demanded a total of around 100.000 euros in outstanding wages.

In the end, we were able to recover a total of 12.000 euros for four colleagues – meaning that many of them did not receive their wages. Now that they have been taken over by a new DHL subcontractor, many of those affected are afraid that they will be dismissed if they continue to fight for their outstanding wages.

The colleagues affected are mainly people from Somalia and Eritrea. It seems likely that WorKings specifically hired migrants in order to systematically cheat them out of their wages. Migrants are particularly vulnerable on the German labor market. On the one hand, because they are often less aware of their rights – but above all because their residence status is often linked to their employment and there is therefore a great fear of being dismissed. So it is not just wage fraud that is systematic, but also racism.

Subcontractors allow large players such as DHL and Hermes to save costs and at the same time avoid responsibility in the event of labor law violations. DHL has now also terminated its contract with WorKings. In addition, workers are singled out in such cases because each case of wage fraud is dealt with individually in the labor court. We countered this with a rally, public pressure and a joint statement in court.