Following numerous harassment problems against female Moroccan seasonal workers last year, Morocco and Spain have just committed to working together to improve their working conditions in the region in the strawberry fields of Huelva. The Ministry of Labor and Professional Integration of Morocco stressed that this operation will have "a cultural, human and educational aspect".
The focus will therefore be on worker safety. For this, awareness and information campaigns via videos are designed to teach rights and duties, but also explain the working conditions in the strawberry fields.
Several measures will be implemented: for example, workers will be exempted from paying rent for their housing but are still expected to pay for other expenses (water, electricity and gas up to 1.9 euros per day). This place of residence will have to comply with norms in particular with regard to ventilation and toilets.
Women workers will also be able to benefit from medical coverage in terms of rights and Arabic-speaking female mediators. Employers are asked to respect "the minimum threshold of legal working days", but also to provide a supervisor for every 25 employees. Former Moroccan workers will assist new workers by facilitating procedures and first contacts (travel to banks, markets ...) during their presence in Spain.
In addition, the workers are warned against the non-compliance with circular migration on the basis of which these regular temporary work operations are organized in Spain.
The Federation of Democratic League for Women's Rights (PLDDF), the Union of Women's Action (UAF), the Jossour Association and the Moroccan Association to Combat Violence against Women had launched a plea to improve the conditions of these workers. Today, opinions about the agreement reached between the two countries are mixed. Some say that Morocco poorly negotiated. They criticize the fact that the measures do not deal with the visa price, the contracts of employment or the complexity of their implementation in the field. "For the moment, the protection of seasonal workers is not yet won. We want them to be within the framework of Spanish law given that they work in Spain ", said Latifa Bouchoua, president of the FLDDF.
These associations intend to continue their advocacy with parliamentarians to win their case.
Source: Huffington Post Morocco