(this post was 1st published on the Rural Presence Blog)
Image copyright: Apple picking by Roger Davies. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 / image cropped.
Summary
Rural churches might consider what pastoral care they should be providing to the 80,000 (at peak) seasonal migrant workers – mostly from eastern Europe – and how that care might help local agricultural businesses attract such labour.
UK agriculture, (like other EU states), has long relied on seasonal migrant labour to pick and process crops. In the last few years farmers have found it increasingly harder to attract migrant labour. In 2017 the average labour shortfall was 13% – with some crops remaining unpicked – and the shortfall is expected to be larger in 2018.
Before the referendum this was possibly due to factors such as increasing living standards and decreasing unemployment in eastern Europe. After the referendum the devalued pound and BREXIT uncertainty added to those factors.
Some claim that the sources for migrant workers have steadily moved east and south and so increasingly will come from outside the EU. Some suggest that cheap migrant labour might be slowing the development of soft fruit picking technology, (harder crops are much more automated). Others point out that with increasing poly tunnel use the season is now some 10 months – so previous legislative approaches limiting migrant stays to 6 months don’t fit with that extended season.
Over the last couple of years there have been calls for legislation to attract more seasonal migrant workers. The Government’s current position is that:
- it awaits a report due this September from the Migration Advisory Committee;
- until UK exits the EU migrant workers can continue to work in the UK;
- after UK exit it has promised that EU citizens working in the UK now will be able to stay and settle in the UK;
- in the 2 year implementation period after exit it is proposed that EU citizens will come and go within a registration process – and after 5 years they’ll be able to apply for permission to remain.
The following sections give a bit more detail ….
Introduction
If within your parish boundaries you have some agricultural or food manufacturing / distribution or horticultural businesses then you may find the briefing below on seasonal migrant workers useful. A July 2017 HMG report said that such businesses
“have long relied on migrant labour. This reliance has increased in recent years due to the seasonal nature of demand and falling unemployment in the UK”
The same report cites estimates that:
- 27,000 people from other EU member states worked in UK agriculture in 2016;
- a further 116,000 EU nationals worked in the UK’s food manufacturing sector;
- during peak harvesting season the agriculture sector is further dependent on a large temporary workforce – thought to be around 75,000 strong – with 98% recruited from elsewhere in the EU.
You might also consider what your communities could do to help these businesses attract the migrant seasonal workers they need. For example, this 2005 article on a joint Churches’ Rural Group and Arthur Rank Centre leaflet on “Pastoral Care of Migrant Workers” suggests:
- welcome them to your services and provide a place for daily prayer;
- identify their faith and help them find ways to practise it;
- help them communicate with their families back home – e.g. via the internet;
- help them access interpretation facilities.
Some churches also use an existing or new coffee morning with locals available to help migrants practise their English.
Background
On Thursday 1st March the UK Parliament’s Backbench Business Committee had a debate on seasonal migrant workers. Much of the information and text and links in this post is taken from a summary issued by the House of Commons Library before the debate, (Authors: Melanie Gower; Sarah Coe; Sarah Pepin). The text in red coloured font are points I picked up from the debate itself.
The last version of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) – in place from 2008 and closed in 2013 – allowed fruit and vegetable growers to employ migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania to do short-term, low-skilled agricultural work in the UK for a maximum of 6 months at a time. A point made in the debate was that picking soft fruits is not unskilled labour, it requires early starts, intensive work and a deceptive level of knowledge gained from years of experience.
With increasing difficulty in attracting migrant seasonal workers over the last couple of years there have been calls for the return of the SAWS scheme or something similar. Increasing difficulty in attracting seasonal agricultural workers is a problem not unique to the UK but present throughout Europe – possibly caused by lower unemployment in some Eastern European countries.
Responding to a July 2017 debate on Seasonal Agricultural Workers, George Eustice, (DEFRA Minister of State), said the Home Office had indicated that, if necessary, the SAWS scheme could be reinstated within 5-6 months. With the increasing use of poly-tunnels for some crops this seasonal work can now be over 9-10 months – for other crops like vines the season is very short.
Recent developments
The Government has commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to research the impact of leaving the EU on the UK labour market, and how to align immigration policy with a modern industrial policy. They have been asked to report by September 2018. They might publish some interim reports before then.
A DEFRA consultation paper on “the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit” – published on 27th February 2018 – acknowledges concerns about reliance on migrant workers and the need to avoid “a cliff edge for businesses”. For the longer term the paper says Government wants to work with industry to encourage more domestic workers with the skills “necessary for an increasingly sophisticated food and farming industry” (page 30). It takes 3-5 years for a fruit tree to be productive. The current uncertainty about seasonal migrant worker supply means farmers are putting off investment decisions about whether to plant new orchards. In the debate one MP said the consultation paper uses the word seasonal once.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee is currently holding a follow-up inquiry into labour constraints in the agricultural sector. Submissions from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Association of Labour Providers (AoLP) contain recent data on reported shortages of labour.
Data on Reported Labour Shortages
From the NFU and AoLP submissions linked to above …
2016
- No reported labour shortages
- 41% of workers had worked a previous season (often returning to the same farm)
- 10-15% of the fruit harvest was “ploughed back in” due to unavailable labour
2017
- the average labour shortage was 13% ….
- … with September peaking at 29%
- 29% of workers had worked a previous season, (lowest % since 2014)
- 40% of survey respondents attracted the no. of seasonal workers they needed
- 13% of seasonal worker recruiters were significantly short of the no. required
- 48% of those employing seasonal labour struggled to recruit what they needed
- 36% said it was difficult and 12% said it was very difficult.
2018
- 43% of labour providers don’t expect to be able to source and supply sufficient workers for the food manufacturing and distribution sectors
- 49% of labour providers don’t expect to be able to source and supply sufficient seasonal agricultural workers
- 75% of agriculture and horticulture businesses anticipate shortages in low and unskilled roles and over 25% envisage a labour supply crisis.
- Food growers and manufacturers are reporting real impacts on their businesses caused by labour shortages – from increased costs, to relocation, with scaling down and threats to viability.
- It is estimated there will be some 80,000 seasonal migrant agricultural workers.
2019
- It is thought some 90,000 seasonal migrant agricultural workers will be required.
Speaking towards the end of the debate some of the points Caroline Noakes, (The Minister for Immigration), made were:
- EU citizens working in the UK now will be able to stay and settle in the UK after we exit the EU;
- In the proposed 2 year implementation period after that – EU citizens will still be able to come and go within a registration process – and Government’s intention is that after 5 years they will be able to apply for permission to remain.
Further information
Migrant workers in agriculture, Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP-7987, 4 July 2017
Brexit: future UK agriculture policy, Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP-8218, 1 February 2018
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, The impact of Brexit on the UK agricultural workforce, 2016
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