The Ministry of Agriculture tackles the lack of labor to avoid shortages in the middle of the pandemic
The Government is finalizing the approval of a royal decree that makes hiring in the field of unemployed and immigrants without work authorization more flexible to tackle the lack of labor that is affecting agricultural production throughout Spain. The initiative aims to alleviate the shortage of seasonal workers in the campaigns in Andalusia, Murcia, Extremadura, Aragon and Catalonia and avoid a food shortage and the rise in prices in the midst of a pandemic. The decree law, to whose draft EL PAÍS has had access, considers these measures "urgent" to guarantee production and will be in force until June 30. The forecast is that the text will be debated this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers.
The imposition of confinement and border restrictions have coincided with the boom of the main agricultural campaigns and have left thousands of workers at home. The first alarm signal came on March 13, when Morocco closed its borders and blocked the exit of more than 11,000 women out of the 17,000 summoned to collect red fruits in Huelva. Community seasonal workers, such as Bulgarians and Romanians, have also been unable to move. The agrarian sector employs approximately 300,000 temporary employees, of whom around half are foreigners, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The royal decree, proposed by the Luis Planas ministry, would make unemployment benefit and other social aids, contributory or not, compatible with hiring for agricultural tasks. It also includes workers whose contracts are suspended due to a Temporary Employment Regulation File (ERTE). The draft to which EL PAÍS has had access, however, excludes those workers affected by an ERTE linked to the coronavirus crisis, a point that has been the subject of debate.
The new regulation also includes the granting of work authorizations to various groups of immigrants. Priority will be given to those foreigners whose contracts conclude during the period between the declaration of the state of alarm and June 30 and also to immigrants whose regularization is pending pending the completion of administrative procedures. The easing will also apply to asylum seekers who have been in Spain for less than six months and therefore do not yet have permission to work, as well as young ex-guardians of migrants between the ages of 18 and 21. In such cases, it includes the text, "may be beneficiaries of temporary contracting for which purpose it may proceed to its extraordinary regularization during the term of the contract."
In all cases, candidates must reside near the places where they will work. The draft decree interprets that proximity occurs when the domicile and the workplace are in the same municipality or in neighboring municipal terms. In any case, it gives freedom to the autonomous communities to adjust this criterion based on their territory, depopulation or the dispersion of municipalities.
The problem of lack of agricultural labor is not unique to Spain, but also worries Italy, France or Portugal. The European Commission recommended last Monday that member states establish specific procedures to guarantee the arrival of their seasonal workers, considered "crucial workers". Germany, for example, has already announced that it will ease travel restrictions on 80,000 temps from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria between April and May to ensure their harvests. In addition, it wants to attract another 10,000 workers, including the unemployed, students and asylum seekers.
The Coordinator of Organizations of Farmers and Ranchers (COAG) estimates that last year some 285,000 people were employed in the field between April, May and June. He explains that in about 15 days the collection of stone fruits will begin and, later, that of summer fruits, and if there are no changes in hiring there will be a 40% labor deficit. "We need 120,000 people that we do not have," regrets the association. Catalonia, Aragon, Murcia and Extremadura are the most affected communities.
COAG maintains that the problem does not lie solely in the lack of labor from abroad. The regulations imposed by the Executive to curb the spread of the virus also imply restrictions on travel within Spain, in addition to the difficulty of finding accommodation for the crews. "That is why we must prioritize people who live very close," confirms the association. The Union of Small Farmers (UPA) takes the matter seriously and ensures that, for the moment, there is no lack of labor, although there is fear for the campaigns that are about to start. "We must consider that less is being collected because consumption has changed, more pulses and pasta are bought than fresh fruit and vegetables," they assure from UPA, "but agriculture and livestock will continue to work and we guarantee that food will keep reaching consumers ”
