About us
We support migrants and mobile workers in precaroious work-life-situations in realising their labour and social rights through counselling, education and building awareness.
Our aim is to achieve equal treatment of all residents
- independent of origin and residency status, to enable equal access to labour rights and social security for everyone.
We unveil and counteract structural problems by using our practical experience to inform trade unions, research institutions, public authorities and politics.
Our services
BEMA offers individual information and advice, workshops and trainings, and professional expertise on labour and social rights.
Information and advice
We provide information and advice to migrant workers in 12 different languages. We offer support during all stages of the migration process in the area of social and labour rights, as well as in other legal fields (residency law, free movement of workers in the EU, recognition of certificates and qualifications acquired outside Germany).
Based on our longstanding experience we explain possible courses of action to our clients. We provide guidance on next steps or give hands-on support if needed.
We also offer specialised advice on questions concerning labour exploitation, forced labour and human trafficking, as well as on ALG II (Bürgergeld).
Professional Expertise
Through our public relations work we inform media, expert audiences and policymakers. We thus contribute to reducing structural and systemic discrimination and exploitation of migrant workers.
Training and Education
Our educational work focuses on strengthening workers’ rights in Germany. We go into German language classes, visit refugee accommodation and cooperate with community projects to organise trainings for migrant workers and refugees.
Moreover, we offer trainings for persons working with migrants and refugees such as social workers, language teachers, and employees of job placement services and public authorities. In our trainings we discuss working standards and labour rights, common forms of exploitation and opportunities for action in the respective field of the workshop participants.
Contact
Nicola Meyer
Department Head Migration and Decent Work Berlin
E-mail: meyer(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Izabella Tasi
Project Assistant
Tel.: (030) 513 01 92 69
E-mail: tasi(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Monika Fijarczyk
Team Lead Work Rights
Tel.: (030) 513 01 92 79
E-mail: fijarczyk(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Fatma Erdem
Team Lead Social Rights
Tel.: (030) 513 01 92 80
E-mail: erdem(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Anna Basten
Team Lead Training Programmes
Tel.: (030) 513 01 92 74
E-mail: basten(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Alia Schwelling
Project Expert Forced Labour
E-mail: za(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de
Anastasiia Maksymova
Team Lead Hidna Pratsya Berlin
Tel.: (030) 513 01 92 87
E-mail: maksymova(at)berlin.arbeitundleben.de