Exploitation in Spanish agricultural sector
Migrant labourers enter countries on temporary seasonal working visas that are linked to a particular sponsor.
According to the charity Causeway, if they lose their job, they often have no right to remain in that country, find alternative employment or apply for benefits. This dependence on their employer puts these labourers at a heightened risk of exploitation.
Spain relies on migrant workers to sustain its economic growth and social welfare system.
These labourers are integral to the thriving agricultural sector in Spain.
According to figures published in the Guardian, migrants comprise 25% of the workforce in Almería. And 25,000 to 30,000 of people working in the greenhouses of this southern agricultural region are undocumented migrants.
Ethical Consumer's 2023 research white paper Produce Of Exploitation found that migrant agricultural workers in Almería and nearby Huelva, many of whom are undocumented, have been refused legal wages, fired for joining unions, forced to work in unsafe conditions, shouted at for taking toilet breaks and sexually assaulted and harassed.
Further, undocumented workers in the Spanish supply chains of UK supermarkets do not have the legal right to secure satisfactory accommodation, forcing them to live in shanty towns without adequate access to basic amenities, such as safe water, waste disposal and electricity.
And like other unregularised migrants in the country they are not able to open bank accounts or access welfare, and live in fear of being deported at any time.
"Working without residency documents is hard because employers can tell you one thing and then get you to do something else," one migrant called Diana told the BBC. "Sometimes they pay you less than what you've agreed to, so that makes things tough.
"It's stressful, you can get exploited, and then you can end up not just without any money, but sick and lonely."
Is it still going to be an issue after this amnesty?
Initial reports showed strong support for the regularisation measure among migrants in Spain.
Away from the agricultural sector, a Bangladeshi man told the Guardian that the news gave him hope that he would no longer have to work as a street umbrella salesman in punishing weather for €200 (£173) to €400 a month. “It’s like a gift from God that will help keep me going,” he said.
But the excitement was more muted among those who had studied the effects of similar initiatives that Spain has introduced.
Spain differs from many other European peers in its long history of offering legal status to migrants – this is the tenth extraordinary regularisation in the country in recent decades.
The latest proposal is seen as an improvement on previous regularisations in that it was introduced following a campaign by migrant organisations.
According to CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) these groups secured more than 700,000 signatures and the backing of 900 organisations and associations for the grassroots legislation.
The scope has also been extended to include all migrants whatever their circumstances, while earlier initiatives have been limited to workers with employment offers, students, people in vulnerable situations and relatives of existing residents, according to CIDOB.
But like its predecessors the latest regularisation proposal is unlikely to create a significant improvement in the lives of migrant workers unless Spanish authorities and international corporations take action to prevent exploitation in supply chains across the country.
“Anyone who knows the life of an irregular migrant is well aware that having a residence permit is the necessary condition (but no guarantee) for access to basic rights and a dignified life,” said CIDOB. “But rights also have a collective dimension. Only when they are guaranteed to everyone without exception can we build safe and cohesive societies without the exclusion of some eventually affecting the rest.”
