You came in second in a race of two

A German person’s life is worth about 1,720,000 €. That is, of course, based on the revenue they generate throughout their life if they were male and skilled. A female, unskilled worker is only worth about 514,000 €.Spengler 2004 This estimate, meant to guide decision makers in the insurance industries and politics alike, was based on the principle that work with a higher risk for accidents requires higher salaries than low-risk jobs to persuade workers. It also grants an uncanny flashback into the economy of 2004 when cashflow was steady and salaries were comparatively meager. Now, two crises later, it begs the question: What has changed?

The gender pay gap across industries, for one, is still a burden to many. Salaries are roughly stagnant. The neoliberal number-crunching of the value of life is of course also unchanged. The risk, however, has considerably risen.

Romanian essential seasonal labourers – a term never heard before in history – are being escorted into a locked down country, followed by an eager press delegation documenting this solemn act of state for a nation of impatient asparagus fanatics. Both the German government and local farmers set up a loophole through the impenetrable post-Schengen border for them, making sure to meticulously comply with complicated disease control measures. More often than not, they’re sheltered in isolated container villages which they are not allowed to leave due to the fear of the contagion – a freedom their hosts meanwhile enjoy. In effect, up to 80,000 workers are being funneled into the country, subject to degrading work and living conditions, in order to fuel an essential industry. But their unusual sacrifice is not left unappreciated. Their risk to take up this work in a time of crisis is valued with about 920 € of monthly income.Deutsche Welle joyfully reports on the reliability of seasonal workers amid the crisis, illustrating their report with a payroll detailing the piece work of a harvest of 80 kg of asparagus over the stretch of more than two months yielding a total of about 2300 € of income (Kühnel 2020). In order to reach their 2004’s worth of lifeSpengler calculates 1,224,000 € for male unskilled workers., they’d have to work for 107 years until they can become a productive member of our society.

That is easily enough time for three of four more crises to come, among them that of the climate. With warmer winters, however, the working conditions of essential seasonal labourers might change for good: Asparagus requires winter temperatures of 2°C for 30 days or 5°C for 45 days for good growth.Nie et al. 2016 In the end, it will be the plant to put an end to all of this.