Undocumented Workers Seek Legal Status to Save Spain’s Strawberry Harvest

Three ministries are in the sights of the collective of African workers. These are the Ministries of the Interior, Agriculture, Social Security and Immigration. The collective has sent a letter to request the massive regularization of thousands of undocumented immigrants who are surviving in the vicinity of the red fruit fields of Huelva.

The closure of the border with Morocco has compromised the red fruit harvest campaign. This decision prevented the arrival of about ten thousand workers from Morocco. An extraordinary contingent of day laborers will be needed to save the strawberry and other red fruit crops, whose season is underway. The collective defends the interests of four to five thousand seasonal workers, who survive in shanty towns around Huelva.

Two converging needs have been identified. These are the needs of employers to harvest the fruit and those of day laborers, who need work under conditions of legal security. In addition, there is a lack of decent housing for thousands of people without residence or work permits. This is why the collective also requests the provision of decent housing for Moroccan workers during the strawberry campaign, especially in the midst of the covid-19 crisis, and in accordance with an extraordinary regulation on respect for the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain.

The last regularization of foreigners in Spain dates back to 2005. It had allowed, according to the government, to "normalize" the work of nearly 700,000 workers, who were part of the underground economy.