Who Will Be Picking The Fruit This Year?

One million migrant workers have come to the UK since May 2004 according to recent estimates.

Love them or hate them, the agricultural sector benefits, as they work in low paid seasonal jobs like fruit picking that many UK workers no longer want.

Agricultural employers have therefore reaped the benefits of access to a flexible, motivated and economically cost effective workforce to carry out such tasks for the past four years, but for how much longer?

Let’s take Polish workers for example, who were originally attracted to work in the UK by the offer of higher wages. With the value of the Polish zloty strengthening against the pound, more of these workers are returning home, where the unemployment rate is falling and salaries increasing. In addition, the Polish government is now actively seeking to encourage migrant workers back by offering tax incentives to address their own skills shortage.

But what does this mean for the South West agricultural industry? Statistics are limited, however, a decrease in labour supplies will probably increase costs and reduce income. Approximately 21,000 non-skilled migrant workers are needed to meet the demand for seasonal work in the UK. Without them, there is a real risk that produce will not be harvested.

The short term solution would be bringing in more non-EU agricultural workers on a seasonal basis. An alternative suggestion is using the labour of those carrying out community service. However, this could be problematic for the employer, with the high turnover of staff and their commitment.

Another suggestion is increasing the minimum wage in this sector, but this too could have a detrimental impact on an already over-stretched industry.

Ultimately, the government needs to take action sooner rather than later by encouraging migrant workers, young people or those on unemployment benefits to enter the agricultural sector. No action will surely mean future problems for the South West agricultural sector.

What ever the solution to the problem agricultural employers need to be aware of their obligations towards employees, including minimum pay under the Agricultural Wages Order 2007 and obligations in such areas as annual leave. Failing to get these right could lead to a costly appearance before an Employment Tribunal.

Contact James Collings, associate, for further information or advice.  

Published 23/07/2008. The author of this article is James Collings