The National Agriculture Confederation (CNA) has criticized the government, alleging that it has not done “everything it could” to address the exploitation of migrant agricultural workers in the Alentejo region. According to CNA national director Joaquim Manuel Lopes, the government has not taken sufficient action to resolve these issues.
Lopes stated that the real issue is not whether the government took any action, but whether it exhausted all available measures to tackle the exploitation problem. He believes the government fell short in its efforts to protect migrant workers.
An international delegation of small farmers’ organizations visited Serpa (Beja) to observe the conditions faced by immigrant agricultural workers, particularly those working in greenhouses in southwest Alentejo. The delegation included representatives from the European Coordinator Via Campesina and five other small farmers’ organizations from Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Morocco.
The CNA has called for “greater and more effective” supervision by authorities like the Foreigners and Borders Service and the Authority for Working Conditions. The organization insists that the exploitation, including abuses by temporary work companies, must be thoroughly investigated and controlled.
Joaquim Manuel Lopes highlighted cases where labor recruiters take half of the workers’ wages, leaving the immigrants with just enough to cover basic expenses like transport and a bed, often charging around 300 euros a month. He emphasized the urgent need to stop merely sympathizing with the plight of these workers and to start taking decisive actions to resolve these issues.
The CNA leader stressed the importance of holding all parties in the agricultural sector accountable for labor exploitation. He particularly pointed out that the owners of agricultural holdings are aware of the conditions under which their workers labor and should, therefore, be held responsible.
The CNA has long been concerned about labor conditions in agriculture. Lopes noted that small farmers typically rely on family labor and do not employ immigrants, suggesting that the issue is more prevalent in larger farming operations.
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