Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers leave to work as seasonal workers in the agricultural sector, in July, August and September. According to a Dares study, there were between April 2018 and March 2019 more than a million seasonal workers in France, of which 270,000, or more than a quarter, are agricultural workers.
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The vine is the agricultural sector employing the most seasonal workers, but its mechanization is faster than other sectors, such as arboriculture and market gardening. The nature of these cultures means that seasonal agricultural work particularly concerns the south of France. 50% of the annual work volume is concentrated in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. On May 20, operators demonstrated in cities of Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur, impatient to be able to welcome foreign seasonal workers stranded at the border by the health crisis.
Many posted workers
In the Gard department, there are around 500 seasonal workers of South American origin who, through the Spanish temporary work agency Terra Fecundis, are employed by farmers. " It is a problem of international competition, of course, " explains Didier Lauga, the prefect of Gard. The very competitive prices of Spanish agriculture are a real challenge for French producers.
A circular from former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, dated May 20, set the conditions for entry into the territory for posted workers, requiring in particular certification on the honor of absence of symptoms of Covid-19 or a 48-hour quarantine put in place by the employer. On May 20, the farmers' demonstration in Avignon, Aix or Arles also revealed a concern, that of paying the price for these new constraints.
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However, in some farms, the working conditions, housing, wages of these posted workers are suspect. These employees from South America unfortunately have little tendency to protest against deplorable reception conditions, says Didier Lauga. However, this is a real concern for some.
" Outrageous " abuses
Some farmers seem ready to do anything to take advantage of low-cost labor. The prefect of Gard insists: " It is a small minority. The majority of farmers are indeed flawless on this subject. And this problem does not only concern posted workers: in 2017 and 2019, accommodation for French agricultural workers had been closed by prefectural decree for unsanitary conditions.
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Today, the issue of foreign workers is the one that is causing the most stir. In Arles, five former posted Moroccan agricultural workers are suing Laboral Terra, a Spanish temporary employment agency which, like Terra Fecundis, is under fire from critics. " That there is foreign labor, this is not a problem ", they say in the CGT section of Arles. But it is the “ crazy conditions ” in which posted workers are employed that provoke the ire of the union, which goes so far as to speak of “ 21st century slavery ”.
Protesting is easy, but punishing is less. On June 25, the Tarascon court dismissed the CFDT, which had filed an appeal against farms in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the interim company Terra Fecundis, in connection with the discovery of the Covid-19 case at foreign seasonal workers. Terra Fecundis is particularly difficult to punish for justice, because not only does Spanish society escape French law, but also it signs contracts in which only the operators are responsible for the living conditions of the seasonal employees.
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The virus highlights
The pandemic is for some the opportunity to reveal working conditions for a long time scandalous. In the Bouches-du-Rhône as in the Gard, the screenings revealed numerous cases of Covid-19 in posted agricultural workers. The unions immediately protested. The virus is " a true revealer " of old practices in temporary work agencies " that we have been fighting for a long time, " said the CGT of the city of Arles.
From June 10 to 12, 78 cases of coronavirus were detected at the Beaucaire (Gard) screening center, many of whom were posted workers. On June 29, the prefecture announced the closure of two seasonal agricultural accommodation due to unworthy housing conditions and non-compliance with health regulations. However, " these two events are not necessarily linked, " said the prefect. Before the screening, the Nîmes prosecutor had requested a check of these accommodations. The problem is old and has deep roots.
