



/Context
/Destinations
/Types of work
Job insecurity, lacking the opportunity to earn a decent income, to get bank loans for a house, to make savings or have a retirement plan, forces Romanian workers to accept short-term employment in Western countries.
The income earned in just a few months of seasonal work abroad far surpasses a year’s minimum wage in Romania.
/Comparison
460
Euro
Minimum wage in Romania
1625
Euro
Minimum wage in Belgium
1584
Euro
Minimum wage in Germany
1583
Euro
Minimum wage in the UK
1539
Euro
Minimum wage in France
1108
Euro
Minimum wage in Spain
For many years now, across Europe, there has been a tendency toward the deregulation and flexibilization of the labor market, which has reduced protective measures for employees in relation to their employers.
This has considerably weakened the workers’ standing before business owners. In the absence of any form of self-organization, the workers are increasingly vulnerable to abuse and forms of exploitation.
/Contracts
/Precarious work
(1) instability – uncertainty regarding work continuity;
(2) insufficient protection against workplace abuse (discriminatory practices, wrongful termination), as well as insufficient social protection (access to pension plans, health care, unemployment benefits, etc.);
(3) the lack of individual or collective control over working conditions, pay, working hours, etc.;
(4) uncertainty regarding remuneration – an insufficient or irregular income;
/COVID-19
European countries tried to protect themselves from the spread of the new Coronavirus by closing their borders to foreign citizens. Initially, governments turned toward the local workforce (the unemployed, refugees, university students, the retired), hoping they would manage to find the hundreds of thousands of workers needed to harvest fruit and vegetables.
But their efforts failed. Therefore, in early April, international travel restrictions for seasonal workers were lifted.
/Workers in the press
/Solidarity
Even though they are considered essential for the societies in which they work, seasonal workers are often faced with abuse or violations of their contractual rights.
In some cases, they are forced to resort to protests and other collective forms of airing their grievances.
/Local communities
/Syndicates
In Germany, the Faire Mobilität trade union initiative provides seasonal workers with information in Romanian, mobilizes help and protest participants.
/Local organisations
/Social media
On Facebook seasonal workers’ groups people exchange information about the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, about the working conditions and the reliability of different employers and intermediaries.
/Scope
The consequences of deregulating the labor market in European countries are far more strongly felt by Eastern European workers. In their countries, governments fail to provide them with decent living wages.
Once they arrive to work abroad, both Western and Eastern states fail these citizens, in their mission to protect their rights.
Harvesting Solidarity is implemented by Asociația VIRA and ViraFilms, with the support of European Cultural Foundation through Culture of Solidarity Fund 2020.