The European Parliament has approved a guideline regarding the hiring conditions for seasonal, non-EU labourers based on the model in force in Huelva since 2001, when the first bilateral agreements were signed with countries like Poland and Morocco. These agreements, known as 'hiring at origin', allowed for immigration to be controlled and directed to cover jobs left vacant by domestic labourers. The model, adopted now by the EU, guarantees a contract with the same rights as an EU labourer and the provision of adequate accommodation.
"In the late nineties, the thriving agricultural campaigns attracted a massive number of undocumented immigrants, who couldn't work and had no decent accommodation. This created an uncomfortable situation for Andalusia's strawberry-producing towns, as those labourers had no money and were forced to sleep anywhere," explains Juan Antonio Millán, ex-major of Cartaya and one of the original promoters for this controlled immigration model. "It was urgent to find a solution. The model was not the result of a whim, but of the need for associations, administrations, entrepreneurs and humanitarian organisations to come to an agreement and make it possible for the needed seasonal labourers to be hired, ensuring that they were provided with good accommodation and enabled to return safely to their countries."
EU countries have been granted a period of two and a half years to adapt their legislations to this new regulation. "It will come in handy for countries which have yet to sort out their migratory issues, like Bulgaria or Greece," states Alejandro Cercas. "It is a regulation designed to ensure social justice is defended."
Source: Elpais.com