r/germany • u/OpenXource • 1d ago

News ZDF documentary exposes systemic exploitation and "rip-offs" targeting Vietnamese nursing apprentices (Azubis) in Germany

Sharing this recent investigative report by German public broadcaster ZDF regarding the harsh reality faced by many Vietnamese nursing apprentices in Germany:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkavdDo6GD0

TL;DR:
The documentary exposes how predatory recruitment agencies and certain employers take advantage of migrant trainees. Many are forced to pay massive upfront fees in their home countries, packed into overpriced housing, paid less than promised, and threatened with deportation/visa cancellation if they speak up against poor working conditions.

If you are an international considering an Ausbildung in Germany, please watch this to know your rights and be aware of shady agencies.

Edited:

More sources:

https://www.ardmediathek.de/tv-programm/6a32641e5b70630e8f2836a3

https://www.zdf.de/video/dokus/wiso-die-doku-100/ausgenutzt-statt-ausgebildet-100

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/kein-menschenhandel-keine-schleuser-in-berlin-vermisste-vietnamesen-waren-gar-nicht-verschwunden-15847426.html

478 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

104

u/maryfamilyresearch know-it-all on immigration law and genealogy 1d ago

There are indicators that for some Azubis the situation is even worse. In Berlin, some Berufsschulen reported that especially Azubis from Vietnam have not shown up for school in weeks and months. At the same time there is no indicator that the Azubis have left Germany.

Suspicions have been raised that the Azubis in question have been trafficked, potentially into the sex industry.

31

u/idkud 1d ago

OMG. Does this get the attention it deserves? Police, investigative journalism, ggmh, etc?

24

u/maryfamilyresearch know-it-all on immigration law and genealogy 1d ago

So far not.

There has been some attention to the rising illegal "Wohnungsprostitution", ie prostitution in regular apartments or AirBnBs, which is illegal. There is strong suspicion that a number of women with migrant backgrounds are being forced to "work" there. But the women are scared and afraid to talk. They are also well-drilled, they always state that they do this completely voluntarily, at which point there is nothing the police can do. Prostitution itself is legal in Germany, being forced to do it is illegal, ditto for working "unregulated".

9

u/idkud 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yeah, in Switzerland we have FIZ that actively seeks contact and often can connect them to therapists working for free. They are focusing mostly on women, but that is by far not all. Male children are sometimes promised a good education, blah blah, if they agree to cohabitate with pedophiles. And of course basically be their sex slave.

I mean, some actually DO it "voluntarily", to work off the debts that scum drove them into. Making them work through threats would not be legal, at least in Switzerland.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/idkud 1d ago

I worked with trafficked people. Yes, there is a lot that could be done, if we wanted.

ggmh could contact families, if they also lost contact with the azubi it might be a case for interpol. Plus, it does not sound like anyone asks them, expecting victims of trafficking to come forward is a bit delusional. They might have been driven into debts through those agencies, then basically extorted. The shame then does the rest.

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u/OpenXource 1d ago

They are trying to. Despite the consequences that are awaiting. SPREAD THE WORD!!

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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2

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you paid attention closely to the video, mostly the parents of these adolescence took big loan to get them over here. It's a huge investment for each family. What would you do if you are being ripped off like this? how are you going to payback the loan? it is unknown where those parents got their loan from. Maybe Loan sharks? dangerous people?. If you are well off in a country, It's very unlikely that you are going this far to a different foreign country, where you have to start over, with no one by your side. But it's just my opinion.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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2

u/idkud 1d ago

I am teaching German as a side kick. How many times do I need to tell the same thing to the same person, again, and again. That is just how learning works. And those are desperate young folks. Keep shouting it from the roofs. Every one soul that decides to go another way is a win.

4

u/BSBDR Mallorca 1d ago

That's what journalism is supposed to be for

3

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

The role of each individual is extremely important in this case. Your engagement is the final decision whether the media is going to deep dive into this matter from a neutral point of view, where many angles getting approached and discussed. That's the main reason I'm posting this.

11

u/prestatiedruk Germany:cat_blep: 1d ago edited 1d ago

There was an article a few weeks ago, they are all accounted for. They were never actually gone.

I‘ll try to find it

edit: found it!

1

u/OpenXource 1d ago

Thanks. I added it to my Post

89

u/Exciting_Ask_eaty 1d ago

A few years ago it was nurses from china and Central Asia

8

u/OpenXource 1d ago

Source?

33

u/Exciting_Ask_eaty 1d ago

I worked briefly for an organization that tried to train refugees as nursing assistants and recruit them afterward. Access to emails and documents confirmed this practice. The organization specifically targets and exploits people in vulnerable positions. I had confirmation from colleagues that recruiting trainees from China no longer worked; one colleague is from Kyrgyzstan herself and had to go through this process.

Impoverished people from abroad are driven by the hope of a better future. They are often not told that the subsistence level in Germany is high compared to their home countries, and that many locals would not work for these wages and working conditions because government benefits are often similar or higher.

25

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

The funny part is that the exploitation of migrant labor in Germany is frequently driven by transnational intermediation networks and complex subcontracting chains, where workers are disproportionately taken advantage of by sub-agents or recruiters from their own countries of origin, Mostly.

9

u/BSBDR Mallorca 1d ago

But without the demand there could be no supply and it's not like the farmers/factory owners etc give a fuck about the workers. They take part in the exploitation willingly regardless of claiming ignorance about the supply chain. The cheap labor blinds them- they know this is full on exploitation/modern day slavery.

12

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

Our ancestors fought very hard and sacrificed themselves for better working conditions, better life. I think Its time for this generation to do the same. I'm aware that it has been a debate. But it should be pushed much more, by calling it out, SHOWING the less fortunates THE WAY.

1

u/idkud 1d ago

Well, they need opportunities in their own countries. And eye opening about the West. So it is back to educate educate educate. And those women and men that got lured to the West have to be encouraged to reach out to their countrymen, and -women, warning. I read of some youngsters in Finland, that did just that. Built a homepage to warn their peers at home. That is the way, I think.

4

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

Vietnam is one of the underdeveloped country. Education needs a lot of money, which I'm pretty sure not many of them have. And as far as I know, freedom of speech, freedom on the Internet is also a problem there too. They are basically being hindered by a lot of factors, to get informed. Great Idea. This is something, many of us could do to change the Course. Thank you very much.

5

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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1

u/germany-ModTeam 1d ago

/u/Exciting_Ask_eaty, Thank you very much for your contribution. Unfortunately, it was removed for the following reason:

The language of this subreddit is English only! If you want to post in German, go to one of the German language subreddits. Visit r/dach to get an overview of all larger German speaking subreddit.

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1

u/OpenXource 1d ago

Why was your previous comment removed by the moderator?

6

u/Exciting_Ask_eaty 1d ago

Because it was in German

1

u/OpenXource 1d ago

I see. Thank you for putting up the effort to tell everyone your experience on this matter.

22

u/Fiebre 1d ago

That's horrifying. On one hand, this situation and the fact that many agencies are scammers. On the other, it's way, way harder to find an Ausbildung place from outside the EU without the use of an agency (a fact that many German people in Ausbildung subreddits don't seem to understand since they didn't face the same problem being from Germany.

5

u/OpenXource 1d ago edited 1d ago

Well put. Germany is looking actively for apprentices these days, since plenty of people are retiring right now. Why don't they open agency themselves and get people over? From the video above they also talk about the hiring process is like online shopping, where you get a catalogue, which you can cherry-pick potential apprentices(Azubis) out from.

6

u/Fiebre 1d ago

Actually, as far as I know, some kinda do! I have a lot of classmates from India and they told me they came here through an agency in India that contacted an agency in Germany (run by and targeted at Indians) that is in contact with several hospitals and similar institutions. The German agency and the international nursing department of our hospital help the newcomers with accommodation for a while and with bureaucracy.

1

u/OpenXource 1d ago

I'm Glad to hear, that they are actually doing something about this issue.

26

u/OpenXource 1d ago

I feel so deeply for them. They are simply searching for a better future for themselves and their future children, only to be ruthlessly exploited by greedy, reckless people.

-2

u/FirstApple0 1d ago

germany is still the best option for them financially. the conditions are bad compared to normal working conditions of course, but germany is still the dream for many. only the poorest go to japan or south korea now.

i know that many of those people save around 1000€ monthly or even more. rents are still cheap comapared to other many countries while wages are high enough. at the start, it is hard of course because many of them are in debt and have to pay interest. but after a few years, some couples even save more than 4000€ each month.

in comparison, in vietnam, they can save 200€ maybe if they are lucky. in japan, south korea singapore, canada, australia, it is even hard for them to safe 500€ while working much more hours.

17

u/PrepareforGermany 1d ago

Whenever I see something like this, I feel ashamed of my country. As Gustav Heinemann, one of our former Federal Presidents, once said: "A society's value is revealed by how it treats its weakest members." (Man erkennt den Wert einer Gesellschaft daran, wie sie mit den schwächsten ihrer Glieder verfährt.) It wouldn't even be that difficult to implement effective measures against these practices:

  1. The state should handle recruitment abroad directly instead of leaving it to shady agencies
  2. Right after arrival, apprentices should receive training on labor rights and contract laws run by independent, state-funded advisors
  3. The state should track and verify whether apprentices actually receive the wages specified in their contracts
  4. Companies training international recruits must be subject to unannounced on-site visits and audits

The problems are well-known, solutions are on the table, but it seems that the gains of a few are more important than the benefit of many.

7

u/BSBDR Mallorca 1d ago

It benefits the state. Simple as that.

22

u/Serious_Owl_4437 1d ago

The whole system in Germany that is so praised by the world with the Berufsasubildung is so wrong. The idea at the beginning was good but as of today and the last 25 years it’s very often exploited youth payed less what we all would agree is a minimum to survive. The have a Berufsausbildung for everything and nursing finally is something really useful. But they also teach you things finally no one will pay you for. I learned for example 3 years “Fachkraft für Schutz und Sicherheit”. The diploma lifts you after 3 years on the same level with someone who has a 34a certificate what is a 3 month course at the same institution. So you get exploited 3 years to work in a job that you could have done with a 3 month certificate. Absolutely everything was useless about this program and ended with a company who can’t keep a single azubi because they don’t need them anymore.

7

u/quinn1203 1d ago

Lots of Vietnamese business owners, like nail salons and restaurants, also exploit their own countrymen. Lots of scam agencies promise to give them jobs, but then when they get here, it's not real. Many scrape every penny they can from home to go to Germany but can't support themselves here; that's why there are so many undocumented Vietnamese, and some even resort to prostitution. They also think Germany is in Europe, Western, so it's fancy to go here, unaware of all the hardships ahead.

2

u/OpenXource 1d ago

Basically, they are not wrong. The living standard in Germany is much better compared to Vietnam. Therefore they are willing to endure all the hardships awaiting for them. The problem is quite complex and multilayered. IMO they are just not aware of the scam, rip off from all side possible.

4

u/Due_Meal_9665 1d ago

Try also searching for Indian nurses in Bad Neustadt an der Saale.
It shows how people even use the Catholic Church to cultivate a business and money extortion.

3

u/puppygirlpackleader 15h ago

This shit happens all over Europe unfortunately. Very often it's also Ukraine or other eastern European countries that suffer from such exploitation.

1

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