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For debate in the Standing Committee — see Rule 15 of the Rules of Procedure
Doc. 9883
18 July 2003
Migrants in irregular employment in the agricultural sector of southern European countries
Report
Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography
Rapporteur: Mrs Tana de Zulueta, Italy, Socialist Group
Summary
Reliance on migrant labour has become a characteristic feature of agriculture in southern European countries, especially for seasonal activities, where a large workforce may be needed at short notice and for brief periods. The work of many of these migrants is undeclared. As a result, they have no rights to receive minimum wages or make social security contributions and are often subjected to abuse and exploitation. In some cases the concentration in rural areas of migrants with no abode or work, waiting to be recruited, creates unease in the local population, or even racist and violent outbreaks, like in El Ejido (Spain) in 2000.
Irregular employment does not necessarily imply irregular stay. Migrants with legal residence may be denied permission to work or driven into the underground economy because of difficulties in finding regular employment. Irregular employment is also the recourse of many genuine asylum seekers who cannot work for the duration of the asylum procedure. Other migrants lack legal rights to stay in the host country and for this reason are prepared to take up any job, whatever the living and working conditions.
Council of Europe member states should establish an effective system of migration management in response to the demand for labour in agriculture and introduce fair and viable channels for the recruitment of long-term, temporary or seasonal migrant workers. Agricultural workers in regular employment should be granted full access to social security in the host country, as well as progressive rights according to the length of their stay, including the right to longer-term residence, the right to family reunion and the right to vote and stand in local elections. Last but not least, migrant workers who have been victims of forced labour or who co-operate with investigations or court proceedings to apprehend or prosecute their exploiters should be granted a residence permit.
I. Draft recommendation
1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes that reliance on migrant labour has become a characteristic feature of Mediterranean agriculture, especially for seasonal activities where a large workforce may be needed at short notice and for brief periods. The work of many of these migrants is undeclared. As a result, they have no rights to receive minimum wages or make social security contributions and are often subjected to abuse and exploitation. In some cases the concentration in rural areas of migrants with no abode or work, waiting to be recruited, creates unease in the local population, or even racist and violent outbreaks, like in El Elejido (Spain) in 2000.
2. Irregular employment does not necessarily imply irregular stay. Migrants with legal residence may be denied permission to work or driven into the underground economy because of difficulties in finding regular employment. Irregular employment is also the recourse of many genuine asylum seekers who cannot work for the duration of the asylum procedure – a period which can amount to months or even years – and who have no other means to provide decently for themselves or their families. Other migrants lack legal rights to stay in the host country and for this reason are prepared to take up any job, whatever the conditions of work. Some migrants even arrive with the intention of engaging in irregular employment, in the knowledge that the agricultural sector offers excellent opportunities as well as an efficient word-of-mouth recruitment system.
3. The Assembly is concerned about the work and living conditions of migrants working irregularly in the agricultural sector, as well as about the size to which undeclared migrants’ work has grown in Council of Europe member states, and especially in southern European countries.
4. The Assembly regrets that, despite the fact that a number of agricultural activities need a seasonal workforce, that a national seasonal workforce is often unavailable, and that many migrants are ready to take up seasonal employment in agriculture, Council of Europe member states often do not have clear, transparent and coherent policies for the recruitment of migrant seasonal workers and their subsequent access to basic social and labour rights, let alone a harmonised approach to this issue.
5. The Assembly also regrets that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (entry into force: 1 July 2003), has been ratified by only two Council of Europe member states and signed by one other.
6. The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i. instruct its relevant Committees to conduct research on the issue of migrant labour employed in the agricultural sector of Council of Europe member states, in particular in the areas of legal status and rights of temporary and seasonal migrant workers, their living and working conditions, recruitment procedures and sanctions against employers of migrants in the undeclared market;
ii. on the basis of such research, formulate appropriate recommendations addressed to member states;
iii. call on member states to:
a. establish an effective system of migration management in response to the demand for labour in agriculture, with particular attention to seasonal activities, through transparent procedures engaging employers, local administrators and workers’ representatives;
b. introduce fair and viable channels for the recruitment of temporary or seasonal migrant workers, if necessary through the conclusion of bilateral agreements with potential countries of origin, and advertise them widely, both in the country demanding seasonal workforce and in potential countries of origin;
c. grant seasonal or temporary migrant workers accepted under the above-mentioned procedures a work permit giving, amongst other rights, full access to social security in the host country. Such residence permits could be renewable or issued for multiple entries, and should not be bound to a single employer. The repeated issue of seasonal or temporary work permits should lead to the progressive acquisition of rights for the beneficiary, including the right to longer-term residence, the right to family reunion and the right to vote and stand in local elections;
d. make available vocational training and language courses for migrant workers both in countries of origin and of destination, with the active participation of local administrators from both countries, employers and workers' representatives;
e. encourage local authorities and employers to provide access to adequate housing and social services for foreign workers, particularly seasonal workers;
f. introduce and enforce an appropriate legal framework to sanction employers of irregular workers in agriculture, as well as suppliers of illegal migrant labour, with penalties which are proportionate to the actions performed, sufficiently severe to have a dissuasive effect and rising for repeated offences;
g. establish an inter-agency taskforce, composed of relevant government departments, employers’ associations and workers’ representatives, including representatives of migrant workers, to monitor the effective implementation of the sanction system. This taskforce should also be in charge of training and education of various enforcement services as well as competent courts;
h. introduce in their law and regulations the possibility of granting a residence permit to those migrant workers who co-operate with investigations or court proceedings to apprehend or prosecute illegal employers or suppliers of illegal migrant labour;
i. introduce in their law and regulations the possibility of granting a residence permit on humanitarian grounds to migrants who have been victims of forced labour;
j. sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
II. Explanatory memorandum by Mrs Tana de Zulueta
1. Introduction
1. Thousands of migrants are employed illegally in the agricultural sector of Council of Europe member states, particularly in southern European countries. Others are employed legally but experience severe discrimination in working or living conditions. The reliance on migrant labour in seasonal harvesting has become a characteristic feature of Mediterranean agriculture, where migrants have come to replace national workers. They are employed on an occasional or seasonal basis, sometimes as day labourers, frequently switching between different employers and engaging in various manual occupations. Some of them have received formal education beyond primary school level, even up to the level of technical or professional training. Those who are in irregular employment have no rights to receive minimum wages or make social security contributions, and are subjected to a wide range of abuse and exploitation.
2. Irregular employment does not necessarily imply irregular stay. Migrants with residence permits may either be denied permission to work or, if it is extended, be driven into the underground economy because of difficulties in finding legal employment. Irregular employment is also the recourse of many genuine asylum seekers who are refused permission to work for the duration of the asylum procedure – a period which can amount to months or even years – and who have no other means to provide for the needs of their family than by working illegally.
3. Other migrants lack legal rights to stay in the host country and for this reason are prepared to take up any job, whatever the conditions of work. Some of these are smuggled into a country with the intention of engaging in irregular employment, in the knowledge that the agricultural sector offers excellent opportunities as well as an efficient word-of-mouth recruitment system.
4. Your Rapporteur is extremely concerned about the work and living conditions of migrants working in the agricultural sector, as well as about the size to which undeclared migrants’ work has grown in southern European countries. This memorandum tries to cast a light on the phenomenon, drawing on two studies: “Undeclared work in agriculture” produced in 1997 by ORSEU with the help of trade unions in six countries1 and “Le goűt amer de nos fruits et légumes”, an investigation carried out by the European Civic Forum. In addition, several individuals and organisations have provided valuable information about the situation in their respective countries. Your Rapporteur is particularly grateful to Mr Volanen, Secretary General, Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations of the European Union (COPA) and General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union (COGECA) and Mr Hemard, Secretary General, Confederation of European Agriculture (CEA) for having shared their views on this issue with the Committee during its meeting in Brussels on 4 October 2002. A special thank should also go to Mrs Anna-Biondi Bird, Assistant Director of the International Confederation of the Free Trade Unions (Geneva).
PART 1: General background and factors common to the whole region
2. Seasonal activities in agriculture
5. In all southern European member states reliance on migrant labour is particularly apparent in seasonal agricultural activities. In particular, intensive fruit and vegetable production is the main agricultural sector that remains strongly dependent on a large workforce. The work involved is generally seasonal and is subject to the uncertainties caused by unpredictable climatic and weather conditions. This results in the need to turn to a large number of workers at short notice and often for brief periods.
6. This is also one of the sectors most exposed to free-market conditions, not benefiting from any price support mechanisms within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy. Over the last decade or two it has experienced a strong trend towards increasingly intensive production concentrated in certain regions (in particular in Andalusia). In addition, this sector is considerably influenced by modern distribution and marketing structures: in many countries big supermarket chains control up to 80% of the market and they constantly cut prices to compete with their rivals. Producers have to respond to orders from the big distribution and supermarket chains. Their buyers can call farmers at any moment and ask for a lorry-load, or just one or two palettes, of this or that product the next day. If the farmer is unable to deliver, the supermarket will look elsewhere.
7. The fact that a dozen or more workers are suddenly required for a few hours makes it impossible to have a fixed labour force. Producers are forced to rely on a large reserve army of casual workers, both immigrant and local. This system forces producers to reduce labour costs.2
8. In most European countries the national population is less and less prepared to accept the working conditions to be found in intensive fruit and vegetable production. Over the last few decades their place has been increasingly taken over by migrants, either working irregularly or with various forms of legal, and mostly seasonal, statuses. Some countries of southern Europe (Greece, Italy and Spain) have a large proportion of irregular migrants, while in France most migrant workers come with a seasonal contract. It must, however, be stressed that this is a Europe-wide phenomenon and both legal and irregular migrants can also be found working in agriculture in northern and eastern Europe.
9. The wage differential between western Europe and the countries of origin of the migrants results in their being prepared to accept very poor conditions, long hours and low wages.
10. Your Rapporteur warns against clichés: in agriculture, as well as in other economic sectors, it is possible to have many forms of undeclared work involving legally employed nationals and immigrants, as well as irregularly employed nationals and immigrants.
11. As the ORSEU report indicates, “varied clandestine and underground practices are tending to develop, intensify and spread. They range from an increase in additional undeclared hours for permanent wage earners, through the most atypical and flexible forms of casual employment, to the development of illegal, even sometimes slave-labour, forms of recruiting agricultural labour. This certainly more mediagenic aspect of clandestine labour in agriculture may be correlated, although not systematically, with the influx of a foreign labour force”3. Some employers use various forms of undeclared work at the same time in order to profit from a highly flexible workforce and gain “maximum efficiency”.
12. The fact that this activity takes place in rural areas, far from the cities, and is generally seasonal has resulted in a lack of trade union involvement and protection. Migrant workers in agriculture greatly suffer from their isolation due to their being far from existing well-established immigrant communities as well as from city-based human rights or civic organisations that could act on their behalf.
13. Suppliers of labour such as gang-masters play a major role in the recruitment of migrant labour, often in the undeclared economy. The traditional gang system has proved successful due to its flexibility, because it enables farmers to harvest their crops efficiently without carrying on their permanent staff a number of employees for which it would be impossible for the farm income to provide. At the same time the gang system is open to abuse, not only with regard to taxation but also to the detriment of those who are employed in it. It often implies poor wages and working conditions and inadequate housing or accommodation, provided by the gang-masters themselves at a very high cost. Sometimes migrants accept to work in slave-like conditions, having no alternative to provide for themselves or their families or under the threat of being deported.
3. Work permits for migrants in agriculture
14. Over the past few years, European governments and EU institutions have changed their approach to immigration policy. Once acknowledged that the goal of “zero immigration” is unrealistic, some Council of Europe member states have opened channels for immigration to meet labour market needs. Various forms of temporary, seasonal or fixed duration work statuses have been introduced in particular in the agricultural sector. In many cases obtaining a specific work permit does not imply the right to apply for longer-term residence rights.
15. Such statuses have existed for many years in some Council of Europe member states. For example, several thousand workers have come every year to France with OMI contracts4 from Poland, Tunisia and above all Morocco since the 60s. In Austria the "Erntehelfer" (harvest helper) status was established in May 2000. Up to 7000 seasonal workers can be recruited with this status for up to a maximum of six weeks. There is practically no social insurance, the wages are low and the unions absent. The employer saves over 15% because he does not have to pay social charges. In 1991 Germany introduced the status of seasonal worker for the agriculture, forest and hotel sectors. The contract has a duration of three months. In 2000, a total of 220 000 new permits were issued for agricultural seasonal workers. In theory there is a ceiling on the number of permits for eastern Europeans – 180 000 – but this is not respected as the government has introduced a whole series of exceptions, such as "the danger of bankruptcy due to an over costly workforce"...
16. It is estimated that there are about the same number of undocumented workers in German agriculture as legally registered ones.
17. Many observers and experts fear that these seasonal and temporary work statuses contribute to a dangerous form of segregation or hierarchy on the labour market. Migrants can come for several months every year to work in agriculture, but are deprived of the right to live during this period with their families and they do not benefit from the same social and labour rights as national workers.
18. There is an increasingly widespread phenomenon of immigrants arriving in western Europe from central and eastern European countries to work in agriculture, with or without legal papers. Here they are beginning to replace the traditional immigrant labour forces coming, for example, from the Maghreb.
4. Legal framework and enforcement of sanctions against employers
19. Southern European member states have adopted and refined employers sanctions over the last twenty years. The issue of enforcement of these sanctions has been much more controversial. There is less confidence now that there was twenty years ago concerning their efficacy and deterrent potential. The most usual complaint is that enforcement is inadequate in the light of mounting illegal migration and the presence of a large migrant workforce ready to take up any job. In addition, enforcement is inadequate due to laxity in its implementation and loopholes within current law: employers know that the chance of facing penalties for the irregular employment of migrant or national workers are very slim. Very often the employers or gang-masters themselves report to the authorities the presence of undocumented migrants who have worked for them, so that they can avoid paying them or, again, worker’s immigration status only becomes an issue to the employer when the worker seeks to enforce workforce protection.
20. Your Rapporteur believes that sanction systems where the employers or labour suppliers can be ‘rewarded’ for denouncing the presence of clandestine migrants among their workers should be avoided: such systems facilitate employers’ abuse by allowing them to mask harassment and intimidation of migrant workers under the threat of their deportation as compliance with immigration laws. It should be the employer’s duty to make sure that the migrant to be employed has a legal status allowing him to work, and the failure to do so should be sanctioned. Similarly, systems which sanction the employee do not work in practice because they are not sufficiently deterrent.
21. Employers sanctions should target employers who operate exploitative workplaces by violating labour, tax, antidiscrimination and health-and-safety rules. In addition, penalties should be applied against those employers and labour suppliers who knowingly recruit undocumented workers or participate in document fraud for commercial advantage. Any economic incentive that an employer might gain from hiring undocumented workers or documented workers in the undeclared market should be eliminated. To this end, penalties should be introduced to sanction such behaviours, rising for repeated offences. The enforcement of this system should be monitored through an inter-agency taskforce, composed of relevant government departments, employers’ associations and workers’
representatives, including representatives of migrant workers. This taskforce should also be in charge of training and education of various enforcement services as well as competent courts. Finally, employers should notify the authorities with a new employee’s identity, nationality and legal status prior to the onset of employment.
PART 2: The situation in some representative countries
a. France
22. France has a legal framework for the entry and employment of seasonal migrant workers in agriculture. The OMI contracts mentioned above allow migrants to work for up to six or occasionally eight months in agriculture. OMI contract workers are physically in France, but as far as their rights are concerned they are in their country of origin. Although they pay social charges at the normal French rate, the family allowances they receive are based on the country of origin rate, over five times lower than the French one. The same is true for their pensions. It is commonplace for the official number of hours to be declared, even if the migrant often works twice as many hours without the extra hours being paid. The migrant is nominally linked to the employer who recruited him in the first place, often through an agency in the country of origin or through personal contacts. The worker cannot change employer without the latter giving his approval. Allegations of 'under the table' payments by workers selling employment or contract renewal are widespread.
23. In some ways, an OMI contract worker has less rights than a clandestine worker. He can come to France every year for 25 years and have no right whatsoever to apply for a residence permit, whereas a migrant who has been illegally in the country for five years has some chance of being regularised.
24. OMI workers very rarely protest against the abuses they suffer. It is very difficult to make a legal complaint against employers as the workers are obliged to return to their home country within a week of the termination of the contract.
25. Besides regular migrant workers, a considerable proportion of migrants employed in agriculture work in the undeclared market, which was estimated to be between 4% and 14% of the GDP in 1996. Agriculture accounts for 8.4% of reported cases. The French government, tax authorities and labour market authorities give a high priority to the combat against undeclared work, the main focus of discussions being on regulations, sanctions and controls to the supply of undeclared work. French policy is aimed at reducing both demand for, and supply of, undeclared labour through tax and labour regulations and through public awareness and information campaigns. French policy measures against undeclared work constitute an integrated approach in that they form a package, both preventive and repressive. The main practical problem, however, seems to be the difficult co-ordination between the various committees and initiatives created the fight against undeclared work.
b. Greece5
26. In the early 1990s Greece became one of the main countries of destination for the populations of the collapsing regimes of Balkan and eastern European countries. It thereby experienced a historical reversal of the massive exodus of Greeks to the labour markets of Europe, Australia and the USA in the 50s and 60s. As a result of the extensive illegal entry of migrants it is estimated that over the past ten years the immigrant population has grown to about 10% of the national population and over 15% of the economically active population.
27. Certain observers speak of a south European model. One of its characteristics is that Spain, Italy and Greece attract large numbers of migrants despite the fact that they have the highest unemployment rates in Europe (over 10%).
28. Agriculture is the most heavily subsidised sector of the Greek economy. Common Agricultural Policy payments make up almost 50% of total agricultural income. Today agriculture employs almost 17% of the economically active population, contributes approximately 10% to the GNP and accounts for almost one third of exports. The average size of holdings is small: 4.3 hectares. 60% of farmers are over the age of 55.
29. The arrival of migrants in the early 90s coincided with important developments in agriculture, and more generally in the economy and society of rural Greece. After a period which saw a substantial rise in agricultural incomes, the first consequences of the fall in competitiveness of Greek agriculture became apparent. This increased the pressure to “modernise” by restructuring production with a priority given to intensive crops and the introduction of new technology. This resulted in greater seasonal demands for labour and a simultaneous reduction of the proportion covered by family labour power.
30. The local labour force was insufficient because the improved level of education and standard of living, as well as the spread of urban consumption patterns, led to higher expectations among the younger generation, who looked for jobs elsewhere than in agriculture and even in the rural areas. These labour deficiencies in rural areas had substantial negative implications for the competitiveness of Greek agriculture.
31. The mass availability of migrant labour has rapidly covered the shortfall, above all in intensive agriculture. It also contributed decisively to lowering the cost of production. The contribution of migrant labour to the local economy was widely acknowledged by those interviewed by the University of Patras team (60% see only positive implications, 10% both positive and negative and 30% see no implications. Less than 1% had a negative reaction).
32. The research carried out by Charalambos Kasimis shows that 53% of the total number of households in rural areas and 65% of farms employ migrant labour. When asked ‘why they employ migrants’ the most popular answer (60%) was “because we could only find migrants”, followed by “because Greeks do not work in the fields” (40%) and then by “because they cost less”. Non-family labour contributes almost 25% of the total labour spent on the farm, 90% of which is migrant labour, 77% being Albanians.
33. There are no precise official statistics about migrants working in agriculture in Greece. Some data can be found from the Ministry of Agriculture which asked Prefectures to provide information concerning the number of foreign workers needed in the agricultural and fishery sector per month6. “Needed” in fact corresponds to foreigners actually being hired. The needs vary depending on the month and season. The average monthly requirement is 120 000 foreign workers. This is mainly seasonal labour.
34. The period with the lowest demand is from January to April (85 000-95 000), the highest demand being in August (130 000). This would indicate that there is a need for seasonal labour, but that there is also a large number of foreign workers working throughout the year. At the end of the year many workers are needed for the olive harvest.
35. There are no statistics that indicate the distribution of foreign workers in the agricultural sector according to the country of origin. Until 1998 almost all of them were undocumented and consequently no statistics were possible. Although many have now had their status regularised there are still no relative statistics. There are also no available estimates of irregular labour in agriculture.
36. The countries of origin of the migrants working in agriculture are, however, well known. Polish migrants were the first East Europeans to arrive in Greece in the middle and end of the 80’s. Some of them worked in agriculture. Now the majority of all immigrants in Greece are from Albania (70-80%) and this is also true of the agriculture sector. They started to cross the Greek-Albanian border in large numbers in 1990-91.
37. For many work in the fields constitutes a transitory period, until they learn the language and make acquaintances that allow them to find work in the cities.
38. Until the first regularisation process in 1998 the status of the vast majority of migrant workers was that of illegal or undocumented workers. Around 550 000 immigrants have been or are in the process of being regularised. It is estimated that another 500 000 are working illegally. It is not possible to estimate the respective share of legal and undocumented labour in the agricultural sector. A second regularisation process was launched in 2001, but has not been completed yet. When the date expired for applications, 351 110 had submitted documents for the acquisition of a work permit. The results will probably only be known at the end of 2003.
39. It seems clear that migrants have contributed to the survival and expansion of farms. The use of migrant labour is more significant for the larger farms. In farms of 3-5 ha migrants work an average of 62 days, while on farms of 5-10 ha they work for 163 days.
40. Some migrants have settled down in villages and work throughout the year. During the low season they often shift from work in agriculture to other casual jobs. Some of them have become part of local society. Others work in rural areas during the high season and go to cities for the winter where they seek casual jobs, often with periods of unemployment.
41. There have been no studies into the working and living conditions faced by migrant agricultural workers. What is known comes mostly from interviews conducted by the Church of Greece in the framework of research on other topics, as well as information provided by the press. Given the sources, this is only scattered information and a comprehensive picture is absent. It includes the role of intermediaries and various instances of abuses of rights. Abuses exist particularly in the case of seasonal workers. For example, employers are reported to only exceptionally pay the required social security benefits.
42. With regard to the economic and social integration of migrants, one must differentiate between those who live permanently in the region with their families and those who come as seasonal workers. It would seem that over recent years the living conditions and social status of migrants have improved substantially and that their wages have increased. Migrant workers, however, continue to do the most badly paid, insecure, hard jobs rejected by the local labour force, and still live in harsh conditions.
43. There is a consensus among the rural population that it is important to regularise undocumented migrants if they are to be integrated into local society and the labour market. A majority of the rural population has a positive opinion on the recent legislative attempts by the central government to regularise migrants. On the whole, it would appear that immigrant workers are more accepted and integrated in less developed areas than in more developed ones.
44. As far as the recruitment of migrant workers in concerned, little is known about intermediaries who provide farmers with individuals or teams of workers, regular or undocumented. From witness accounts by migrants themselves it would appear that foreigners sometimes establish the link between migrant workers and employers and take a fee for this service. The press has talked of intermediaries providing employers with teams of workers, as well as illegally ‘importing’ into Greece the workers ordered by a specific employer. This meets the demand for cheap labour at a time when the pay of even irregular migrants already in Greece has substantially improved. Some cases that have been made public involve extreme exploitation and slave-like conditions.
45. In principle the employment of irregular migrants is illegal and sanctions are foreseen for both employer and worker. Controls have, however, been very rare and few cases have been brought to court. Migrants have always been persecuted not for their illegal work but for their illegal stay and have been deported on that ground.
46. Attitudes to migrants have evolved, and it is increasingly accepted that the Greek economy profits from illegal migrant labour, even though the media has promoted an image of foreigners as criminals and thus contributed to racist attitudes.
47. There have occasionally been serious tensions and outbreaks of violence against migrants in rural areas. In one rural area, Roma protested against newly arrived Albanians taking their seasonal jobs after offering to accept lower wages. But the tensions mostly result from the fear of the criminality of foreigners. This was particularly true at the end of the 90s, above all towards Albanians. Some villages have ‘closed their doors’ to further immigrants and have applied measures such as prohibiting migrants to circulate in the village after sunset. At the same time these same villagers continued to speak positively of the foreigners already settled locally and to appreciate their contribution to the local economy. They therefore exempted them from the police measures they wanted to apply to newcomers and unknown migrants.
c. Italy
48. It is difficult to provide statistics on the phenomenon of immigration in Italy, although there are many sources, documents and organisations seeking to define and quantify it. The situation is even more complex in the agricultural sector, especially in the South, due to continual mass arrivals of illegal immigrants, which makes it impossible to calculate numbers, and also due to the inherent instability of agricultural work itself. In the southern regions, the informal economy and irregular employment have even greater weight. Historically, these two aspects existed well before the arrival of immigrants.
49. In reality, if the use of irregular employment of immigrants is so poorly known, the reasons lie in the structure and functioning of the Italian economic system. Undeclared work is part of the production system, rather than an exceptional aspect of it. It is found wherever attempts are made to reduce costs and increase flexibility through the labour force. Clearly, demand is matched by the availability of supply; the supply takes the form of immigrant workers, who are often irregular and disinclined to insist that regulations are followed. Temporary seasonal work is characterised by considerable mobility, and frequently represents a transitional phase in integration. The most typical case is harvesting in the countryside, which requires a very large labour force, but only for short periods.
50. Seasonal workers are highly sought after. Until the end of the 1970s, they were almost exclusively Italians, but in recent years employers have increasingly counted on foreigners for this type of work, on account of their greater flexibility, mobility, and willingness to work in extremely difficult conditions for a lower wage.
51. Immigrants now represent 60% of the seasonal labour force: 40% of these possess a residence permit, and about 50% work in conditions of total or partial irregularity. According to estimates by COLDIRETTI (a producers’ union), the number of legal workers, permanent or seasonal, from outside the EU in the agricultural sector in 2001 was roughly 80 000 (about one worker in ten).
52. In 2002, the agricultural trade unions exerted considerable pressure on the government in order to obtain an increase in the quotas of immigrant workers authorised to enter the country. Seasonal immigration is possible in Italy, but heavily regulated through the quota system. Since the 39 400 entry visas available for non-EU seasonal workers had already been distributed, the trade unions and agricultural enterprises persuaded the Ministry of Social Affairs to sign a decree increasing the previously fixed quotas by 20%; at the same time, 60 000 additional entries have been provided for 2003 in the seasonal workers’ quota. According to a report by COLDIRETTI, the trade unions emphasise that the presence of immigrant workers has become a structural component of the country’s agriculture and economy.
53. Obviously, all the irregular workers, whose number is difficult to evaluate, should be added to all these estimates. The difference between regular and irregular workers is in any case simplistic, because almost all regular workers have experienced more or less long periods of illegality (data from the National Institute of Social Insurance, INPS).
54. According to estimates from COLDIRETTI, the presence of non-EU seasonal workers in agriculture is growing at a rate of about 15% per year; 67.3% of them come from eastern Europe (especially Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania). They are primarily employed in arboriculture (53.8%), the cultivation of fruits and wine-making, and horticulture (17.7%). They are concentrated in northern regions such as Trentino (27%), Emilia Romagna (12.7%) and Venetia (10%), but also in southern regions, especially Sicily (8.3%). For harvesting fruit, market gardening and grape picking, the workers are mainly from eastern European countries (those with a strong agricultural tradition, and preparing to join the EU), while in activities related to animal husbandry (e.g. in Lombardy), it is mainly Indians who are employed in, for example, milking in cowsheds.
55. It is difficult to give a general overview of the situation in Italy with regard to agricultural work, since the regional differences within the peninsula, especially between the North and the South, are very wide. According to data from Caritas and ISMU, there is a demand in the North for a “stable” workforce, for whom irregular employment is no longer essential, and sometimes even a disadvantage on account of the rapid turnover that it leads to. Non-EU workers in Lombardy (mainly Indians) can guarantee almost total availability in terms of time, and replace the native workforce entirely. They provide one of the rare examples of vocational insertion in employment that is considered “skilled”. (ISMU – “Working in the grey areas”). The situation is completely different in the South: this is where immigrants arrive, and as their arrival is frequently controlled by the local mafia, which is interested in the least cost of irregular employees, immigrants in the majority of cases find themselves recruited to work in agriculture in conditions of irregularity, instability and exploitation. In addition, it should be emphasised that the institutions responsible for supervising and suppressing such instances of fraud frequently ignore them (CARITAS).
56. With regard to living and working conditions, although there is no difference in legal status between non-EU regular workers and Italian workers, the wages of the first group rarely exceed 38 € per day for 10 hours of work at a stretch, a figure that is slightly lower than the rate officially set for non-skilled workers. In the majority of cases, a large proportion of the salary is sent back to the family in the country of origin.
57. Housing is one of the most serious problems experienced by immigrant workers, especially seasonal workers. According to information from the IRES-CGIL7 on immigrants in general, 75% of the total number said they lived in rented housing, alone, with their family or with other immigrants. On the other hand, more than 40% of immigrant workers in the agricultural sector claimed to live in difficult conditions (makeshift housing, outdoors, on the worksite, in public structures, with friends, or in hostels). The remaining 60% rent houses or flats, at an average cost of 200 € per month, where, in more than half the cases, two or three people share the same room (CENSIS).
58. 77% of recruitment occurs through informal means: 34% through the intermediary of friends or acquaintances among immigrant population, 32% through a direct approach to the employer, and 11% through the intermediary of Italian friends or acquaintances (IRES-CGIL). Despite the existence of official structures for finding employment (embassies, private agencies or religious establishments), immigrants prefer to contact informal networks, especially ethnic networks, which tend to occupy decisive positions in the labour market and to grow by attracting family members and compatriots. When the relationship of trust is broken, workers find themselves without protection and at the mercy of their exploiters (“Working in the Grey Areas” - ISMU).
59. The presence of foreign workers tends to exacerbate even further problems that already existed prior to their arrival (see, for example, the phenomena of "caporalato" or under-occupied day-workers, especially in the South, and of undeclared employment). In addition, despite a generally rather high level of trade union membership (45% among regular workers, according to the IRES report), trade unions are experiencing considerable difficulties, which limits their ability to provide adequate protection for immigrant workers. At the same time, the high percentage of trade union membership is mainly concentrated in urban areas with a considerable degree of industrialisation. The local labour inspectorate deplores the fact that illegal practices in the agricultural sector are reported only rarely.
d. Spain
60. European public attention was drawn to the situation of migrant agricultural workers by the racist riots that broke out in February 2000 in the Andalusian town of El Ejido. The victims were Moroccans working, mostly illegally, in the 30 000 hectares of greenhouses in the area.
61. In April 2000, the European Civic Forum sent an international commission there to investigate, which resulted in the publication of a detailed report8. The commission of enquiry soon realised that the presence of thousands of illegal immigrants working and living in intolerable conditions was vital to this economic "miracle". They make up an instantly available cheap labour force at moments of picking.
62. 15 000 farm businesses produce up to 3 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables, half of which is exported to northern Europe, mainly Germany. According to the Office for the social integration of immigrants in Almeria, at the time almost 92% of the region's agricultural workers were immigrants, 64% of them Moroccans. In 1998 the Office estimated the number of legal immigrants at 15 000 and the number of illegals at between 15 000 and 25 000.
63. In El Ejido immigrants are segregated and discouraged from "colonising" the town centre. Most of them were living in old shacks abandoned by the rural population; 55% of them had no drinking water, 57% no washing or toilet facilities and 31% no electricity. Hundreds of people squatted in huts made of old wood and plastic. The region's officials put the number of immigrants living in unfit conditions at 17 000.
64. These immigrants are frequently subject to unacceptable working conditions, including heat of up to 50°C in the glasshouses and contact with pesticides. They are also poorly paid. The producers lament being squeezed by high costs and buyers' demands, hence the pressure to keep wages down.
65. The massive presence of illegal immigrants working in Spanish agriculture was recently highlighted by a serious road accident near Murcia in January 2001, which killed 12 illegal labourers from Ecuador. This led to the discovery that there were some 20 000 clandestine immigrants from Ecuador just in this region and some 150 000 in the Iberian Peninsula. The accident victims had all been working without a residence permit or contract for an hourly wage of 2.41 €.
66. In Huelva 55 000 workers pick strawberries every year over a period of three months. Unlike in El Ejido, most of them are Spanish day labourers. Over the past few years up to 10 000 workers have been immigrants, the vast majority being undocumented Moroccans.
67. In 2001 the "sans-papiers" launched a massive campaign in Spain demanding their regularisation. This resulted in well over 100 000 migrants receiving a legal status. They included around 5 000 Moroccans who obtained permits specifically restricted to the 2002 strawberry harvest in Huelva. They were not allowed to work elsewhere or in a different economic sector.
68. The Spanish Government had, however, offered "contracts of origin" to 6 500 Poles and to 1 000 Romanians, most of whom were women, for the same job and during the same season. This duplication appears to have been done at the growers' request because they were apparently reluctant to employ Moroccans with a legal status, on the grounds that they would be more likely to demand their full rights.
69. The situation became extremely tense, with protests which gave rise to a wave of hostility to reserve to the Moroccans. Some, however, stayed in the region, picking up what work they could find, effectively providing a reserve army of labourers. At the end of the season the employers stated with satisfaction that it had been one of the most profitable so far. They now plan to increase the number of "contracts of origin" for next year.
5. Conclusions and recommendations
70. Despite the fact that a number of agricultural activities need a seasonal or temporary workforce, that a national workforce is often unavailable, and that many migrants are ready to take up seasonal or temporary employment in agriculture, Council of Europe member states often do not have clear, transparent and coherent policies for the recruitment of migrant seasonal or temporary workers and their subsequent access to basic social and labour rights, let alone a harmonised approach to this issue.
71. Producers have little reason to fear that the “supply” of cheap labour will dry up. Hundreds of millions of people across the world suffer from poverty or political repression. It is widely known that if a migrant manages to make it across the Mediterranean, or across vast distances in Asia, and is willing to accept inferior and often degrading working and living conditions, he or she will find a job in intensive agriculture or other sectors within weeks of arriving.
72. The management of migration flows and the response to the demand for labour, in agriculture as in other sectors, should be undertaken through transparent procedures which must engage employers, local administrators and workers' representatives, including the establishment of fair and viable channels of recruitment.
73. New legal statuses are being created, above all for temporary, seasonal or fixed duration immigration, in order to satisfy the needs of the labour market. Your Rapporteur warns against creating statuses whose main objective appears is to “import” workers without their gaining progressive rights to longer-term residence and family reunion. Obtaining a work permit, whether seasonal or long-term, should lead to the progressive acquisition and consolidation of foreign workers' rights, including, in time, the right to residency and family reunion – a principle enshrined in proposed EU directives aiming at the establishment of harmonised immigration policies. Permits should not be bound to a single employer. Multiple entry cannot cancel a worker's accumulated rights, on the contrary, these should progressively lead to the right, following a fixed period of residency, to the right to vote in local elections, in compliance with Assembly Recommendation 1500 (2001) on Participation of immigrants and foreign residents in political life in the Council of Europe member states.
74. Vocational training and language courses should be made available both in countries of origin and of destination, again, with the active participation of local administrators (from both countries), employers and workers' representatives. Local administrators and employers should be engaged in furnishing adequate housing and social services for foreign workers, particularly seasonal workers.
75. Council of Europe member states should introduce sanctions against the hiring of undocumented workers or documented workers in the undeclared market, rising for repeated offences. Member states should establish an inter-agency taskforce, composed of relevant government departments, employers’ associations and workers’ representatives, including representatives of migrant workers, to monitor the implementation of the sanction system. This taskforce should also be in charge of training and education of various enforcement services as well as competent courts. Migrant workers should be encouraged to report to the relevant authorities any form of abuse or exploitation connected with the way of recruitment, work or living conditions imposed upon them by their employers or gang-masters. To this end, those who co-operate with investigations or court proceedings to apprehend or prosecute illegal employers or suppliers of illegal migrant labour should be granted with a residence permit.
76. Finally, as it is more and more the case for victims of trafficking, victims of forced labour should be granted a residence permit on humanitarian grounds.
*
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Reporting Committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.
Reference to committee: Doc. 9384, Ref. No. 2715 on 22.4.2002
Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the Committee on 25 June 2003
Members of the Committee: Mr Iwiński (Chairperson), Mr Einarsson (1st Vice-Chairperson), Mrs Bušić (alternate: Đukić) (2nd Vice-Chairperson), Mrs de Zulueta (3rd Vice-Chairperson), Mrs Akgün, MM. Akhvlediani, Alibeyli, Arabadjiev, de Arístegui, Arzilli, Bernik, Van den Brande, Branger, Braun, Brînzan, Brunhart, Cabrnoch, Çavusoğlu, Christodoulides, Cilevičs, Çörüz, Dačič, Danieli, Debarge, Debono Grech, Dmitrijevas, Dokle, Donabauer, Dubié, Mrs Err, Mrs Filipiová, Mr Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg (alternate: Rauber), Mrs Frimannsdóttir, MM. Grzesik, Grzyb, Gülçiçek, Hagberg, Hancock, Higgins, Mrs Hoffmann, MM. Hovhannisyan, Ilaşcu, Jovašević, Lord Judd, Mr Karpov, Mrs Kósá-Kovács, MM. Koulouris, Kulikov, Kvakkestad (alternate: Akselsen), Le Guen, Liapis (alternate: Ms Katseli), Loutfi, Matviychuk, Mrs Nabholz-Haidegger, MM. Naro, Nasufi, Nessa, Olin, Popa, Prijmireanu, Puche, Raguž, Rakhansky, Reymann, Mrs Saks, Mrs Shakhtakhtinskaya, MM. Slutsky, Soendergaard (alternate: Poulsen), Mrs Stoisits, MM. Stübgen, Tekelioğlu, Tkáč, Vera Jardim, Mrs Vermot-Mangold, MM. Vieira, Wilkinson (alternate: Taylor), Wray (alternate: Etherington), Yáńez-Barnuevo, Zavgayev, Zhirinovsky, Mrs Zwerver.
N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretariat of the committee: Mr Lervik, Mrs Nachilo, Mrs Sirtori-Milner
1 Three north European countries (Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands) and three south European countries (France, Greece and Spain).
2 ORSEU: Undeclared work in agriculture, Page 16.
3 Ibidem.
4 “OMI” stands for l’Office des Migrations Internationales, a French semi-state body, not to be confused with IOM, intergovernmental Geneva-based organisation.
5 The information on Greece comes from the reply to the Rapporteur’s questionnaire by Antonios Papantoniou, responsible for migrants at the Church of Greece in Athens, and from a report on “The social and economic implications of migrant labour employment in rural Greece” by Charalambos Kasimis of the University of Patras.
6 This study has not been published. The information available comes from newspaper articles published in March 2001. It presumably refers to 2000.
7 CGIL confederazione generale italiana del lavoro, the Italian General Labour Confederation.
8 El Ejido, terre de non droit (Editions Golias, ISBN 2-9114475-11-K).