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Seasonal work. What is the situation of seasonal employees in Poland? Problems of foreigners working at the collections

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He says that it is the largest fruit farmer of Europe, that it is a large business supported by politicians and that fruit growers are fighting for employees. They need hands to work because the fruit cannot rot. – For example, they offer a potato sack, bread, onion, water in welds once a week. They may not give a contract, but in this way they show that it is worth working with them – explains Dr. Kamil Matuszczyk from the University of Warsaw in an interview with the business editors of TVN24.pl, a researcher of the situation of seasonal employees.

In Grójec orchards during the season, he collects blueberries, apples, strawberries, cherries, and lectures at the University of Warsaw every day. Kamil Matuszczyk is a doctor of social sciences, the only Polish researcher in the so -called area that looks at the situation of seasonal employees, working with them on various farms.

– I have been conducting research since 2019, but this is nothing new to me. Before the research, in 2011, I made extra money as a student and experienced a serious accident in one of the farms – says Kamil Matuszczyk at the beginning.

Fruit harvest platformDr. Kamil Matuszczyk

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In orchards for harvesting fruit, high movable platforms are used, which are connected to the tractor. There are people on the platform and collect apples. – There are also chests in which about 350 kg of apples enter. We also rode on such a platform, which at full loading at the bend fell over. Fruit boxes flew on us. The tractor driver was under the influence of alcohol, which turned out to be after some time – recalls the researcher, who after this event became interested in the safety of foreigners' work.

A collection of apples in the orchardDr. Kamil Matuszczyk

They were sweaty, but they went to work on

He worked that day with a 45-year-old Ukrainian and her 14-year-old daughter, who stayed in Poland, as she describes, in the “undocumented way.” – We were sweaty, but we gathered ourselves and went to work on. Nobody reported anything, because people, coming to Poland, want to earn money because their minor children work in orchards, because no one wants problems with the law – he says.

He emphasizes that there is still a matter of compulsory work. – Passports once took up employees. It was common then. I think that then this Ukrainian woman was in such a situation. She was afraid to report an accident, irregularities because she did not have her documents – he states.

Is the subject of forced labor in Poland today? – We ask. – There is a threat all the time and I think that agriculture, due to its uniqueness, common consent to numerous irregularities and priority treatment of food safety mean that in agriculture there is a greater probability of such pathological phenomena – we hear in response.

There is a “large gray zone” in agriculture

The data provided to us by the Labor Ministry shows that the number of foreigners in the insurance system ZUS At the end of September 2024 it reached 1 million 177 thousand. It is ten times more than 10 years ago. In 2024, over two -thirds of foreigners work in Poland on the basis of a mandate contract, 29 percent. based on the contract. From January to June 2024, almost 40,000 were submitted. Applications for seasonal work permit, they apply to various industries, e.g. construction or gastronomic. However, in citizens Ukraine And their spouses, if they stay in Poland legally, can perform seasonal work, without any permits.

Kamil Matuszczyk says in our conversation that “a large gray zone is still in agriculture, a significant proportion of employees work without any contract.”

War in Ukraine She has changed a lot, there are new regulations and facilitations in the legal employment of Ukrainian employees, but the lack of contracts is the norm – says the researcher.

Chart visualization

Fruits wanting to legally hire foreigners from Ukraine have several paths: an employment contract, civil law contracts, but above all a dedicated contract for help at harvesting.

map visualization

His research also shows that for foreigners working in agriculture there are not many institutions in which they could gain knowledge, gain awareness of their employee rights or get ad hoc help.

– There is not even a social organization in the Grójec poviat that could spread such knowledge. At the same time, it is the largest orchard of Europe. Dissatisfied and even deceived employees who have not received the agreed salary can go to church, but not in the sense of religious practices – he reserves. He will enter the pulpit and say everything to others. He will not go to the police because he is illegally employed, there is no contract and may be deported.

About working children: they drive a tractor

Ukrainians come to orchards most often. – They are mainly village residents in Ukraine, but I also worked with nurses, lawyers or other specialists who collected fruit in Poland. They have developed networks of contacts, their carriers, drivers, know employers, know that employers need them very much. They know who to return to – says Matuszczyk.

A lecturer at the University of Warsaw points out that in the case of seasonal employees there is no such thing as the age limit. He met a 83-year-old woman who came to work at the Blueberry collection, because her son hides from the army from going to war.

– He lives with her pensionsand she earns in Poland to support her. Her story caught my heart, I remembered her very much. If Ukrainians come to us even for the season, when there is the largest harvest of strawberries, they can take a thousand dollars home. This is a valuable cash injection – he notes.

He adds that in agriculture you can also see the presence of teenagers, even those aged 13. According to Polish law, you must be at least 15 years old so that a young person can take up a job. – In agriculture, the work of children, the fact that they drive a tractor is the norm. You believe that they are safe and that nothing will happen to them. The image of the village from years ago is also such that children worked, helped parents. And now it is the same, a Ukrainian arrives and says that she has two thirteen -year -old daughters. Maybe they will not collect 150 strawberry lubbles a day, but already 60-80 yes – says the researcher.

Strawberry harvest Dr. Kamil Matuszczyk

Burrowers appreciate such results and believe that Ukrainian children are more willing to work, that they have determination in themselves, they want to earn their own money. – Children come with their parents “on a biometric passport”, for tourist purposes – specifies the lecturer at the University of Warsaw.

Dr. Matuszczyk doubts whether this will change someday. – Business has a supreme business and will always be somewhere further. Poland is standing food, this is our export goods. Therefore, it will be more important to pull your hands to work, because the fruits cannot rot. This is also a large business supported by politicians. Covid showed that restaurants could not work, schools, churches were closed, as well as parks, but the orchards were not closed. Strawberries could be collected – he recalls the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.

They get potato bags, bread, onion

Another issue is that “in the sector there is also a fight for an employee.” Employers know that they have to give something from themselves.

– For example, they offer a potato sack, bread, onion, water in welds once a week. They may not give a contract, but in this way they show that it is worth working with them. They also promise that they will exchange beds next season. They say they will put tiles in the bathroom, connect the washing machine. It suits employees because they just want to earn as much as possible, unfortunately often at the expense of health – he notes.

He says that after the season a man is fell. If someone works three weeks in strawberries, they can take several months. Strawberries are collected on your lap or bent like a headband.

Strawberries are collected on your kneesDr. Kamil Matuszczyk

– In 2019 I went to harvest with a thermometer, at an extreme moment he showed 46 degrees. It is worse every year, the climate warms up. There is no gram of shade because these are tiny bushes. I heard employers encouraged employees to take breaks for walks, to straighten the bones, but people did not always decide on it. The results count there. You have eight lubbles in your hands and you collect as many strawberries as possible. The boss pays for each Łubianka, in the previous year it was 2.5-3 zlotys – says the researcher.

“People just fall and sleep”

Season employees live on farms of fruit growers, often next to their home. In an outbuilding, in a basement, in a converted garage or barn. – They are not closed, but the element of control is because the employer still has an eye on them – notes Kamil Matuszczyk.

Often, employees live in camping trailersDr. Kamil Matuszczyk

According to him, employees make no difference, who and why they look at them, because the most important thing is to go into the field from 6 or 7. In the case of strawberries, it is even at the fifth as soon as the first sun appears and Rosa comes down.

– After 12 hours of work in the sun, they want to eat anything, rest, take a shower. And there are queues for the bathroom and for some hot water is not enough. People just fall and sleep. That is why I could do deepened conversations with employees in autumn. There is no option on strawberries to talk to someone longer. Well, unless it starts raining. Although then people only lament that they cannot earn money – it illustrates the situation.

Mafe System in Italy

Studies of Dr. Kamil Matuszczyk are conducted as part of the European project “Improving the living and work of migrants with unregulated status in Europe I-Claim”. Researchers in various countries describe the topic of migration, politicians and the strategies of foreign employees present in Poland, Great Britain, Germany, The Netherlands, Finland and Italy.

Dr. Matuszczyk in our conversation estimates that compared to other European countries, the situation in Poland does not look the worst.

– It is worse in Italy, where the almost mafia Caporalato system has been in force for years (it consists in exploitation, violence, violation of personal freedom and migrants' safety – editor's note). Some situations researchers describe there as an example of contemporary slavery, the extreme use of the work of foreigners. Employees must share their very low remuneration with an intermediary who organizes their work, access, arrange employment conditions. Migrants who do not know the Italian language are in a particularly difficult situation – they share applications from the research project.

He points out that the demand for employees in agriculture in Italy is even greater than in Poland, but “as in our public authorities do not pay due attention to the situation of these employees.”

Where can you get help?tvn24.pl

Read: These employees are looking for a company

Do you want to share an important topic? Contact the author of the text: joanna.rubin@wbd.com

Author/author:Joanna Rubin-Sobolewska Graphics: Katarzyna Korzeniowska



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