UN Calls on Spain to Improve ’Deplorable’ Conditions for Moroccan Farm Workers

Nonexistent safety and protection measures at work with inadequate access to basic services, including water, soap and disinfectants, the Moroccan workers lack almost everything and live in overcrowded housing. They are relatively paid below the minimum wage, or sometimes not at all, while they often work beyond the legal working time limit in Spain in the strawberry fields.

Another alarming finding is the care of this skilled workforce during the lockdown. While other regions are in lockdown, "the protection of seasonal migrant workers in Huelva has been completely neglected during the COVID-19 pandemic," according to Schutter.

While recalling this sad finding, he noted that thousands of migrant workers considered "essential workers" are sent to the fields without basic hygiene measures, without protective equipment. "They shared their work tools," he said.

In the face of these deplorable living conditions, the UN representative has called the authorities and employers of these migrants to order. For the UN representative, all authorities must guarantee migrant workers better conditions, including access to adequate and internationally compliant health care.