Moroccan Seasonal Workers in Spain’s Strawberry Fields Earn $1,400 Monthly, Face 8% Tax

Concentrated mainly in the Huelva region, Moroccan workers guarantee agri-food companies a low-cost workforce, but also a significant source of revenue for the Spanish state, knowing that the latter also collects an employer’s share of 23.71%.

The figures were revealed by a Spanish magazine, which is interested in the working conditions of agricultural workers in southern Spain, and whose latest estimates put the amount of taxes in the state coffers at 17 million euros.

This year, the Spanish government has granted an additional month to the 7,000 Moroccan seasonal workers, whose contracts expire on June 30. This derogation, due to the state of health emergency, has allowed some of them to increase their income by working overtime.

However, a crisis is looming on the horizon and worrying the Spanish authorities: the repatriation of the 7,000 Moroccan workers. According to the general secretary of the Andalusia Workers’ Council, we are heading towards a serious "humanitarian crisis" if the Moroccan government does not quickly repatriate its nationals.