Social Europe

Site Links
  • EU Forward Project
  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Membership
  • Search

Stop EU money for labour exploitation in agriculture

Johan Danielsson, Paolo De Castro, Agnes Jongerius, Per Hilmersson and Kristjan Bragason 9th June 2020

EU funding for the agricultural sector must be used to end the mistreatment especially of migrant labour.

agriculture, labour exploitation
Johan Danielsson

Although every year the European Union devotes billions of euros to support agriculture, many employers continue to fail to provide decent working and employment conditions. This must come to an end. The sector has to assume its social responsibility, including providing better and safer jobs. Otherwise the money from Europe’s taxpayers must be withdrawn. 

The coronavirus crisis has resulted in high unemployment figures across Europe. Yet it has left agriculture crying out for workers. 

agriculture, labour exploitation
Paolo De Castro

This lack is due to the unacceptable working and employment conditions which characterise the sector and its dependence on migrant workers from low-income countries, whose freedom of movement has been limited by the strict travel restrictions imposed in response to the viral outbreak.

Huge exploitation

agriculture, labour exploitation
Agnes Jongerius

The extent of labour exploitation in European agriculture is huge. The European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions estimates that some four million agricultural workers, many of them migrant workers, operate in conditions of illegal employment, precarious working and exploitation, whether as seasonal workers, day labourers or otherwise insecure.

Low pay and very poor living standards are endemic, with workers often isolated from the rest of society, living in informal dwellings without running water or power. In a significant number of cases, conditions tip over into gangmaster practices and modern slavery. 

agriculture, labour exploitation
Per Hilmersson

One particularly vulnerable group comprises female migrant workers, who are frequently the victims of workplace exploitation, discrimination and sexual and gender-based violence.

At the same time, agriculture receives a large part of the EU budget—38 per cent. In addition, at the end of April, the European Commission proposed market measures worth around €80 million to support the food industry during the crisis. The Common Agricultural Policy is supporting EU farmers and is important for Europe’s food security and rural development. 

agriculture, labour exploitation
Kristjan Bragason

It should be the many employers who do provide their employees with decent working conditions and a safe working environment who are the only beneficiaries of CAP financial support. The EU must send a clear message: funding is not for those who exploit workers.

Not sustainable

It is not sustainable for the EU economy to support companies which depend on low wages, poor working conditions and unsafe working environments to survive. EU funding to employers with unacceptable working conditions and working environments should be denied.

Funding should only go to beneficiaries that respect international, European and national rules, standards and collective agreements. Any funds withheld could be used for other objectives, such as worker training, or for strengthening the capacity of the European Labour Authority (ELA) to conduct cross-border, concerted and joint inspections.   

The working and housing conditions and the working environment in the agricultural sector have to be improved. The EU should support the capacity-building of social partners in the sector and promote collective bargaining. Labour exploitation should be added to a new EU Strategy for Health and Safety at Work, which should ensure that member states prioritise the sectors with the greatest risk of exploitation.  

In short, if Europe’s taxpayers provide support to the business community, it needs to give something back to the citizens of Europe. The high demands that we make of the rest of the business community, to use EU funding correctly, must also be placed on agriculture.

The way forward must be to create a future common agricultural policy which does not contribute to worker exploitation and social dumping, but instead strengthens rural development and gives workers decent conditions and a safe working environment.

Johan Danielsson, Paolo De Castro, Agnes Jongerius, Per Hilmersson and Kristjan Bragason

Johan Danielsson, Paolo De Castro and Agnus Jongerius are Socialists and Democrats members of the European Parliament, from Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands respectively. Per Hilmersson is deputy general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation and Kristjan Bragason is general secretary of the European Federation of Food, Agricultural and Tourism Trade Unions.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u42198346761805ea24 2 Trump’s ‘Golden Era’ Fades as European Allies Face Harsh New RealityFerenc Németh and Peter Kreko
u4219834664e04a 8a1e 4ee0 a6f9 bbc30a79d0b1 2 Closing the Chasm: Central and Eastern Europe’s Continued Minimum Wage ClimbCarlos Vacas-Soriano and Christine Aumayr-Pintar
u421983467f bb39 37d5862ca0d5 0 Ending Britain’s “Brief Encounter” with BrexitStefan Stern
u421983485 2 The Future of American Soft PowerJoseph S. Nye
u4219834676d582029 038f 486a 8c2b fe32db91c9b0 2 Trump Can’t Kill the Boom: Why the US Economy Will Roar Despite HimNouriel Roubini

Most Popular Articles

startupsgovernment e1744799195663 Governments Are Not StartupsMariana Mazzucato
u421986cbef 2549 4e0c b6c4 b5bb01362b52 0 American SuicideJoschka Fischer
u42198346769d6584 1580 41fe 8c7d 3b9398aa5ec5 1 Why Trump Keeps Winning: The Truth No One AdmitsBo Rothstein
u421983467 a350a084 b098 4970 9834 739dc11b73a5 1 America Is About to Become the Next BrexitJ Bradford DeLong
u4219834676ba1b3a2 b4e1 4c79 960b 6770c60533fa 1 The End of the ‘West’ and Europe’s FutureGuillaume Duval
u421983462e c2ec 4dd2 90a4 b9cfb6856465 1 The Transatlantic Alliance Is Dying—What Comes Next for Europe?Frank Hoffer
u421983467 2a24 4c75 9482 03c99ea44770 3 Trump’s Trade War Tears North America Apart – Could Canada and Mexico Turn to Europe?Malcolm Fairbrother
u4219834676e2a479 85e9 435a bf3f 59c90bfe6225 3 Why Good Business Leaders Tune Out the Trump Noise and Stay FocusedStefan Stern
u42198346 4ba7 b898 27a9d72779f7 1 Confronting the Pandemic’s Toxic Political LegacyJan-Werner Müller
u4219834676574c9 df78 4d38 939b 929d7aea0c20 2 The End of Progess? The Dire Consequences of Trump’s ReturnJoseph Stiglitz

KU Leuven advertisement

The Politics of Unpaid Work

This new book published by Oxford University Press presents the findings of the multiannual ERC research project “Researching Precariousness Across the Paid/Unpaid Work Continuum”,
led by Valeria Pulignano (KU Leuven), which are very important for the prospects of a more equal Europe.

Unpaid labour is no longer limited to the home or volunteer work. It infiltrates paid jobs, eroding rights and deepening inequality. From freelancers’ extra hours to care workers’ unpaid duties, it sustains precarity and fuels inequity. This book exposes the hidden forces behind unpaid labour and calls for systemic change to confront this pressing issue.

DOWNLOAD HERE FOR FREE

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

What kind of impact is artificial intelligence (AI) having, or likely to have, on the way we work and the conditions we work under? Discover the latest issue of HesaMag, the ETUI’s health and safety magazine, which considers this question from many angles.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
How are minimum wage levels changing in Europe?

In a new Eurofound Talks podcast episode, host Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound expert Carlos Vacas Soriano about recent changes to minimum wages in Europe and their implications.

Listeners can delve into the intricacies of Europe's minimum wage dynamics and the driving factors behind these shifts. The conversation also highlights the broader effects of minimum wage changes on income inequality and gender equality.

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!


Since President Trump’s inauguration, the US – hitherto the cornerstone of Western security – is destabilising the world order it helped to build. The US security umbrella is apparently closing on Europe, Ukraine finds itself less and less protected, and the traditional defender of free trade is now shutting the door to foreign goods, sending stock markets on a rollercoaster. How will the European Union respond to this dramatic landscape change? .


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss European defence strategies, assess how the US president's recent announcements will impact international trade and explore the risks  and opportunities that algorithms pose for workers.


READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Themes Archive

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641