Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Agricultural employment situation
Date: 2007-12-13
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: agricultural labour force, agricultural situation, equal treatment, farming sector, labour standard, migrant worker, seasonal employment

16.5.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 120/25

Opinion of

the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Agricultural employment

situation’

(2008/C 120/06)

On 13 March 2007, the Committee Bureau decided, under Rule 29A of the implementing provisions of the
Rules of Procedure, to draw up an opinion on the

Agricultural employment situation.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 31 October 2007. The rapporteur was
Mr Wilms.

At its 440th plenary session of 12 and 13 December 2007 (meeting of 13 December), the European
Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 96 votes to one, with three abstentions.

1. Summary

in rural
The Commission communication Employment
1.1
areas: closing the jobs gap (1) was an important step in preparing
the ground for the debate on the employment situation in the
agriculture sector, which is a key factor in the creation and safe-
guarding of jobs in rural areas.

1.2
Agricultural structural change is continuing apace, and
will affect hundreds of thousands of workers in the agriculture
sector who are set to lose their jobs or see their circumstances
the communication gives virtually no
changed. However,
consideration to one key aspect of agricultural employment —
the situation of employed workers, and seasonal and migrant
workers in particular.

1.3
That is regrettable, given the Commission's efforts as part
of the European Year of Workers' Mobility in 2006. Every year,
around 4 million seasonal and part-time workers — including
some 2 million migrant workers — attest to the high level of
mobility and flexibility in the agriculture sector.

Seasonal work, particularly in the fruit and vegetable
1.4
sector, is a structural element of farming that is indispensable to
efficient and sustainable land management. Since local workers
are often unable to meet
labour,
migrant workers also play their part in the development of
European agriculture.

the demand for seasonal

Healthy food production is a mainstay of our very exis-

1.5
tence. This also includes fair levels of pay.

1.6
Despite high unemployment in many European regions,
calls are being made for additional seasonal workers to be
brought in from Belarus, Ukraine and other countries. The EU
labour market must be developed in a socially sustainable way.
In other words, everyone must have the opportunity to work
for a living. That opportunity is compromised by additional
cheap labour brought in from non-EU countries.

(1) COM(2006) 857 final, Communication from the Commission to the
Council and the European Parliament: Employment in rural areas:
closing the jobs gap.

1.7
The EU's growth objectives can only be achieved through
fair competition. Those employed in agriculture must be treated
equally in all matters, irrespective of their place of origin.

1.8
The agricultural labour market is highly mobile. This is
consistent with Commission objectives. However, mobile
workers must not find themselves placed at a disadvantage.
Hence social integration must also follow on the heels of poli-
tical and economic integration. In the short term, the EESC sees
a need for action in the following areas:

— Minimum standards must be put in place to regulate the
working and living conditions of all migrant workers in
Europe.

— Migrant workers must be

covered by comprehensive,
employment-based social protection; this also includes the
acquisition of pension rights.

— Seasonal workers must also be included in upskilling

schemes.

— Migrant workers must be provided with information on

working conditions and on their rights.

1.9
The European agriculture sector lacks transparency about
the scale of employment and of social standards. This results in
distortions of competition. One way of restoring fair competi-
tion is to award certificates to farms that meet certain social
criteria.

2. Introduction

Agricultural work in Europe is set for further change. Many of
those in paid employment work part-time or on a seasonal
basis. Special provisions apply to migrant workers who move
away from home to work. No significant changes are expected
in this overall scenario in the foreseeable future.

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2.1 Trends in seasonal agricultural work

2.1.1
Agricultural work has frequently been the subject of
EESC opinions. The debate on migrant and seasonal workers is
becoming ever more important both at European level and in
many Member States. The three key stakeholders — employer
representatives, trade unions and political and/or administrative
representatives — have now taken up this issue and are involved
in many fields and a range of activities, as illustrated by the
following examples:

— Many farming trade unions provide information in a
number of languages on the legal position in destination
countries.

— In some countries, the social partners negotiate collective
agreements appropriate to the needs of migrant and seasonal
workers.

— Legal advice is also frequently provided to migrant workers,
particularly in relation to the conclusion of employment
contracts.

— Some governments organise round-table discussions with
the social partners in a bid to improve the position of
seasonal and migrant workers.

— Following submissions

social partners,

the
from the
European Commission is now also addressing this issue and
is increasingly providing support for social partner projects
in the field of migrant work both at European level and
through its various funds, for instance to improve housing
and placement conditions for migrant workers.

2.2.3
In analysing the employment figures, considerable clari-
fication is needed about the criteria used, for instance, to classify
farm size, to establish the particular branch or sector involved,
the scope of horticulture and
and,
service-oriented agriculture.

in particular,

to delimit

3. Urgent nature of the opinion

3.1

The opinion is urgently needed for a number of reasons:

a) In its communication on employment in rural areas, the
Commission looks in some detail at quantitative trends in
the labour market. It stresses that, although agricultural work
in percentage terms, marginal, the sector
in rural areas is,
itself is of major importance. The Commission expects that
4-6 million of the current 10 million workers (calculated as
full-time equivalents) will leave the sector by 2014 (2 million
in the EU-15, 1-2 million in the ten Member States that
joined the Union in 2004, and 1-2 million in Romania and
Bulgaria).

b) In the EU-15, the number of full-time workers is set to
stabilise or even, as in the Länder of
the former West
Germany for instance, to increase slightly. In the accession
countries, a further fall in the numbers of full-time workers
is to be expected. It is clear that, if this trend continues, busi-
nesses will require more seasonal workers in fruit- and
vegetable-growing regions.

2.1.2
An observatory for migrant and seasonal work has
repeatedly been called for. However, this demand has not been
met — despite the fact that a key element in improving the
position of workers is the collection, presentation and evalua-
tion of readily understandable data on the agricultural employ-
ment situation.

2.2 Definitions

c) Forecasts indicate that many countries are set for a shortage
to take up senior

of skilled workers able,
company positions or operate complex on-farm technology.

for instance,

d) Businesses are already complaining that they are unable to
find seasonal workers. Calls are beginning to be made not
only to allow workers to move more freely within the EU,
but increasingly also to admit workers from non-EU coun-
tries to take up seasonal employment. Poland has already
started to open up in this way, granting permits to workers
from Belarus and Ukraine.

2.2.1
One of the reasons for the halting nature of the debate
on seasonal agricultural work is lack of transparency and short-
comings in the way the actual situation on the ground is
portrayed. There are still no clear and detailed figures on the
scale of agricultural seasonal work.

e) On the other hand, unemployment is still high in many
regions, particularly in rural areas. The Commission is
pursuing a strategy to boost worker mobility. However, the
jobs on offer also need to be attractive.

2.2.2
Across the EU, around 2 million people are employed
full-time in the agriculture sector. Some 4 million people are
employed as casual workers, some part-time, others on a
seasonal basis for periods ranging from just a few days to as
much as eight months in the year. Many of those who work on
a seasonal basis are migrant workers not employed at their
place of residence and often working abroad.

f) There is no doubt that migrant work generates conflicts and

difficulties.

g) It is also clear that, in the agricultural sector, demand for
labour peaks at certain times of the year in line with vegeta-
tion periods. Work is, therefore, available. Under the Lisbon
strategy, the aim is to create jobs — but better-quality jobs.

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h) In the Gothenburg strategy, Member States agreed on the
goals of sustainable development. The same weight must
thereby be given to the social dimension as to economic and
follows that social standards
environmental objectives.
must also be complied with in relation to migrant workers.
In this regard, businesses must shoulder their social responsi-
bility. Migrant workers have a right to equal treatment and
to decent housing and living conditions. Moreover,
they
must also be fully integrated into the social security systems.

It

i) In the light of

the European Commission's initiative to
combat discrimination, an anti-discrimination debate on the
working and living conditions of foreign workers is also on
the agenda.

j) Complete freedom of movement for workers within the EU
also means a change in governments' scope for action. This
increases competition both between workers and between
employers.

forecast

k) Given the Commission's

figure of 4-6 million
workers leaving the sector, any discussion of the common
agricultural policy must also include quality-related aspects
of work. The position of permanent workers is set
to
change. A shortage of skilled workers is forecast, with work-
force numbers set to stabilise in the long term.

4. Current problems

4.1 Migrant work is largely the result of the differing stan-
dards of living across the European regions. In the long run,
migration leads to a shortage of workers — particularly skilled
workers — in the countries of origin themselves. In the regions
concerned, attempts are being made to counter the worker
shortage not by increasing pay or improving educational stan-
dards, but rather by hiring workers from even poorer regions —
increasingly in future from outside the European Union.

and unusual working conditions

However, worker shortage is caused by the sometimes
4.2
difficult
sectors
concerned. Migrant workers are simply following the rules of
the market. In the free labour market, they migrate to wherever
conditions are best for them.

in the

4.3 Migrant work is fraught with problems:

— Greater attention must be paid to the plight of women
migrants in the agriculture sector. In many countries, it is
predominantly women who are hired,
leading to cultural
and social difficulties both in destination countries and in
countries of origin.

— Due to the application of transitional measures to freedom
of movement for workers following the enlargements of
2004 and 2007, breaches of labour law are emerging in
secondments as part of the provision of services. Thus, pay
is in such cases sometimes below the legal minimum wage
and frequently below the collectively agreed scales or the
usual local rates.

— Despite a range of trade union schemes and initiatives, it is
proving impossible to provide migrant workers with infor-
mation on their rights. In many cases, the laws and rules
applicable in the destination country are not complied with.
Such exploitation of foreign workers contrasts sharply with
EU efforts to combat discrimination.

— On the social security front, seasonal workers are still placed
at a financial disadvantage because of gaps in their contribu-
tion periods.

— Costs arising from agricultural workers' collective agree-

ments are not normally applied to seasonal workers.

— In virtually all countries, housing for migrant workers leaves

much to be desired.

— A further development is the use of temporary employment
agencies to take on agricultural workers. Although some
examples of poor temporary employment agencies have
come to light, temporary work can frequently be of benefit
to employers and workers alike.

— Sectors which employ a large proportion of short-term
workers are fertile ground for illegal employment. Also, legal
seasonal employment is often used as a conduit for workers
to carry on working in other sectors without valid papers
after their permitted employment period has expired.

5. Conclusions and framework for action

5.1 Overall political framework

The Committee welcomes the Commission's moves to
5.1.1
boost employment in rural areas,
including further efforts to
promote transparency about the employment situation in the
agriculture sector. These include the compilation of statistical
data on the employment situation and also the provision to
workers of a broad range of information on working and living
conditions in the relevant countries.

5.1.2
Agricultural policy to date has focused primarily on the
qualitative and quantitative aspects of the products concerned.
The working arrangements for those employed in the sector
have to a large extent been ignored.

5.1.3
The objectives of the Lisbon and Gothenburg strategies
must be further fleshed out. In the ongoing development of
sustainable agriculture, due attention must be paid not only to
economic and environmental aspects but to the social dimen-
sion as well.

5.1.4
The most pressing objective of all stakeholders must be
to remove imbalances from the European labour market. That
cannot be achieved by bringing more and more cheap labour
into Europe from ever more far-flung regions. A key tenet of
the ‘European model’ is the emergence of a collective sense of
European society. There is no place for ghettos in which
migrant workers have to endure poor living and housing condi-
tions with no cultural or social ties to local life around them.

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5.1.5
Gender must feature more strongly as a factor in any
further studies in this area and in any potential solutions that
may result.

5.1.6
holders are called upon to play their part.

The requisite conditions are still not in place. All stake-

5.1.7 Migrant workers must be treated on a par with local
workers. The Commission must do everything it can to help in
this process. A first step is the forging of minimum standards.
Such minimum standards are a good starting point for any
broad-based discussion of the quality of work.

5.2 Tasks and initiatives of the social partners

5.2.1
The EESC welcomes the social partners' efforts to
promote in the social dialogue the development of vocational
training in the agricultural sector and, in particular, the mutual
recognition of occupational skills by the appropriate authorities
in the Member States. The European ‘agri-pass’ passport that is
being created aims to facilitate the mobility of agricultural
workers in Europe. However, the pass should be merely an
incentive to secure evidence of qualification and should not lead
to workers who do not have it being disadvantaged.

5.2.2
Transparency in professional qualifications can also
help improve mobility and give workers more scope to take a
job and settle down in other countries. The Committee
welcomes the Commission's initiatives to support the social
partners by introducing an ‘agri-pass’.

5.2.3
In conjunction with the European Commission and the
governments of the Member States concerned, the social part-
ners should draw up and implement schemes to combat illegal
employment.

5.3 Joint social security initiatives

5.3.1
Social security for seasonal workers is a matter of par-
ticular concern. Workers employed on a seasonal basis over a
number of years must not be worse off, in social security terms,
than other workers. In particular, this includes making sure:

— that they are fully integrated into the pension system of the
destination country and are able to draw fully on their
pension rights;

— that the relevant health and safety provisions are complied
with at
the workplace and that migrant workers are
provided with information on risks and dangers in their
own mother tongue; and

Brussels, 13 December 2007.

— that migrant workers have comprehensive health cover.

5.3.2 Workers should be briefed in their own language about
the host country's laws, agreements and practices as regards pay,
organisations, social security, taxation, the rules on working
conditions, etc., while at the same time the EU should respect
the role of the contracting parties and not legislate in areas that
are covered by national agreements.

5.4 Improving migrants' living and housing conditions

5.4.1 Migrant workers have the right to decent housing in
their destination country. A scheme must be developed at
European level laying down basic standards for migrant worker
housing.

5.5 Quality label for fair seasonal work

calling

The Committee has, over many years, adopted a large
5.5.1
number of opinions
agriculture.
for
Sustainable agriculture not only involves an environmental
dimension but also takes in business and social aspects as well.
A non-governmental, voluntary certification scheme for fair
seasonal work could make competition more equitable. Possible
criteria for voluntary certification include:

sustainable

— adequate pay;

— proper health and safety at work;

— worker participation in on-farm operations;

— contractual arrangements;

— housing;

— working time.

The purpose of certification is:

— to promote fair competition;

— to provide information to interested seasonal workers about

the companies concerned; and

— to raise the profile of good business practice.

5.6 Spreading good practice

5.6.1
In the European farming sector, a large number of
useful initiatives and projects are currently under way to boost
mobility in agriculture and improve the position of seasonal
workers. The Committee would ask the Commission to take
steps to evaluate and disseminate examples of good practice.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS