European co-funded project in support of agricultural seasonal workers

 

With the financial support of the European Commission DG EMPL and its member organizations, the EFFAT agriculture sector has conducted EU project Combining competitiveness, quality employment and job security for seasonal workers in agriculture - enhancing the sector’s appeal.

 

 

The outcome documents can be found below (available in FR/EN/DE): 

1.  Project information

2. EU Seasonal Work Directive

3. Survey of trade unions and seasonal workers in Europe

4. A European Trade Union Charter for seasonal workers

 

You will also find the experts’ report which was discussed at the conference in Alsace in July 2015 and validated in September 2015 at the last Steering Committee meeting in Amsterdam. The initial aims of the project were reached and the expected results have been achieved successfully, namely:

 

1. Equal treatment for seasonal workers, whatever their origin: 

The results are shown on the dedicated website, available in three languages, www.seasonalworker-central.eu.

 

Among the outcomes, we would like to highlight the good practices developed by our member organizations in:

- Italy (FLAI-CGIL): study on Agricultura e lavoro migrante in Puglia – Liberi dal caporalato – Liberi dallo sfruttamento and support for seasonal workers living in slavery-type conditions to prosecute employers acting unlawfully 

- Netherlands (FNV): support to seasonal workers’ legal action against employers who violated their rights  

- FRY Macedonia (AgroSindikat): legal frame-work agreement for organising and protecting Macedonian workers deployed to Montenegro 

 

2. Securing seasonal workers’ professional career paths: a number of projects were successfully developed, such as making it possible to recruit seasonal workers with an open-ended, multi-activity and multi-employer contract.

 

3. Drafting the European Trade Union Charter for seasonal workers. See doncument 4 attached 

 

4. Proposing a definition of seasonal work at EU level, which we believe is a pre-requisite to the European Charta.

 

We would like to thank all those who have contributed to the success of this project, namely: 

- European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion for its financial support 

- All member organisations in the EFFAT Agriculture Sector, and particularly partner member organisations in this project from Spain (FEAGRA-CCOO, FITAG-UGT), Italy (FAI-CISL, FLAI-CGIL), France (FGA-CFDT) and Germany (PECO-Institut)

- The Réseau Projectives experts