French grape harvest draws 13,000 Spanish workers at €2,156 a month
Around 13,000 Spanish seasonal workers will earn €2,156 gross a month in the French grape harvest, far above pay in Spanish fields.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
French grape harvest pays 13,000 Spanish workers €2,156 a month
Around 13,000 Spanish seasonal workers will cross the border to take part in the French grape harvest with a minimum wage of €2,156 gross a month, according to UGT-FICA (the agriculture branch of Spain's UGT union). The figure is slightly lower than last year's 13,500, but the pay remains well above what Spanish fields offer for similar work.
The mirage of "they don't want to work"
While Spain's agricultural employers' association insists that "Spaniards don't want to work" to justify hiring foreign labour, thousands of them prove otherwise: they are willing, but only in exchange for decent conditions. The €2,156 gross for a 35-hour week, with better-paid overtime, contrasts with wages that, according to industry sources, hover around €1,300 in Spain for far longer shifts. The difference is no mystery: it is the price some are willing to pay for skilled labour.
Conditions and tradition
Vineyard work remains tough. Physical demands are compounded, in many areas, by the heat. But the question hanging in the air is whether the tradition of giving pickers two bottles of wine a day still holds. A detail that, if true, adds another incentive to the season.
The puzzling figure: despite better conditions, worker numbers are down. Nobody in the farming sector can fully explain why, when the wage gap is so obvious.
Around 13,000 Spanish seasonal workers will cross the border to take part in the French grape harvest with a minimum wage of €2,156 gross a month, according to UGT-FICA (the agriculture branch of Spain's UGT union). The figure is slightly lower than last year's 13,500, but the pay remains well above what Spanish fields offer for similar work.
The mirage of "they don't want to work"
While Spain's agricultural employers' association insists that "Spaniards don't want to work" to justify hiring foreign labour, thousands of them prove otherwise: they are willing, but only in exchange for decent conditions. The €2,156 gross for a 35-hour week, with better-paid overtime, contrasts with wages that, according to industry sources, hover around €1,300 in Spain for far longer shifts. The difference is no mystery: it is the price some are willing to pay for skilled labour.
Conditions and tradition
Vineyard work remains tough. Physical demands are compounded, in many areas, by the heat. But the question hanging in the air is whether the tradition of giving pickers two bottles of wine a day still holds. A detail that, if true, adds another incentive to the season.
The puzzling figure: despite better conditions, worker numbers are down. Nobody in the farming sector can fully explain why, when the wage gap is so obvious.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (14 replies).
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