In the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, countries around the world shut their borders to try and limit the spread of the virus.  This led to widespread concerns that the migrant workers who typically work the fields would not be allowed in and crops would not be harvested during the peak European growing season.

There were hopes that this restriction in labor combined with the rise in unemployment might have resulted in more domestic workers taking up the call to arms, but it turned out to be a forlorn hope that reflected the ultimate reality that many migrant workers do the jobs a country’s own population doesn’t want to do.

It’s work that International Labour Migration to Europe’s Rural Regions describes as often poorly paid, poorly regulated, dirty, and monotonous.  What’s more, the authors argue that when these jobs are taken by migrants, their status falls even further, thus making it even less likely that local people will be interested.

Marginalized and exploited

The authors analyzed a wide range of labor migration patterns from across Europe, ranging from Poles fishermen to Ukrainian farmers, Romanian fruit pickers to Albanian shepherds.  The book paints a picture of a body of people that are often marginalized and exploited.

The authors argue that this is not necessarily the fault of individual employers but rather the way the global food supply chain is organized.  The highly competitive nature of the market means that wages generally have to be kept incredibly low for farms to be profitable.

Consumers typically buy into this bargain as they want the lowest prices for their food, even if they say they would be happy to pay a bit extra for more responsible farming to become the norm, this seldom translates into changes in buyer behavior.

This results in migrant farmworkers often housed in extremely cramped conditions and given little opportunity to integrate into the host culture.  These awful conditions are largely ignored by authorities, with recruiters doing all they can to prevent any collective bargaining that may improve the workers’ lot.

Valuable workers

Despite this general sense of exploitation, the food production sector is heavily reliant on migrant workers.  Employers typically defend the poor pay and conditions they offer by suggesting that the workers would earn considerably less in their home country.

“The system maintains an idyllic picture of a triple-win from labour migration: the employer gets good, cheap labour, the employee earns more than at home, and the family and home country benefit from it,” the authors say.

Various geopolitical shifts have resulted in growth in labor migration across Europe, including the expansion of the European Union, the fall of communism, and growth in globalization.  The authors also highlight how the growth in low-cost airlines has made it easier for workers to find work in other countries.  This has led to a situation whereby there are around 5.5 million migrant workers across the continent.

A different picture

The situation is somewhat different in the United States, with the highly industrialized nature of agriculture meaning that roughly two million farmers are able to produce what 10 million farmers do in Europe.  It’s also a less regulated environment with union membership less common than in Europe.

It’s a setup that the authors believe Europe is gradually moving towards, with this especially evident in labor-intensive areas such as fruit and vegetable production.  This sees a transition away from smaller farms to much larger enterprises, with these farms keener to bring in workers from abroad.

While the general premise of providing a better source of income than in their homeland is largely true, the process of moving overseas in search of it is nonetheless difficult, especially given the hugely demanding nature of the work itself.  While cramped and shared living conditions may be acceptable for young people used to hostels, it’s less enjoyable for an older worker with children of their own.

“Migrant workers live a kind of shadow life. They aren’t at home nor are they part of the community they’ve come to for work. Right-wing populism in Europe is strongest in rural areas, which probably affects migrant workers in some countries,” the authors say.