Today, in Europe, core and labour intensive sectors, such as agri-food production and distribution, rely on the employment of a migrant labour force, which is characterised by high flexibility, low wages and exploitative working conditions. The main factors driving recourse to this labour force are price-cost squeeze and the imbalance of power in long supply chains. At the same time, this system takes advantages of the inconsistencies of European and national policies on migration, asylum and labour mobility.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis, a rise in demand for essential goods – especially food – has meant that agricultural labourers, and in particular migrant workers, have been recognised as fundamental to feed European countries.
In this scenario, border lockdowns – immobilising thousands of foreign seasonal workers, especially from Eastern Europe – have caused fears of labour shortages and food production losses in many EU countries.
