La Rioja has renewed the collective agreement for agricultural activity, already published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja after its approval more than a year ago. The renewal of the agreement had been pending since 2009 and among the most significant changes it includes is the relaxation of the obligation for agricultural employers to provide housing for seasonal agricultural workers.
In concrete terms, this new agreement maintains the obligation to provide accommodation, but now specifies that this only applies when workers live more than 80 kilometres from where they will be working. This minimum distance specificity did not exist before and farmers were obliged to provide accommodation anyway.
However, the majority of people who work in the agricultural countryside of La Rioja traditionally come from Andalusia and Portugal, so employers must provide them with decent housing, in good conditions of hygiene, health and cleanliness, light and ventilation. They must have toilets, showers and running water, as well as bedrooms, kitchens and dining rooms, in proportion to the number of people staying.
In addition, the BOR reflects three modalities regarding accommodation. Whether the employer provides their own accommodation for seasonal workers, the farmer pays for external accommodation (hotel, hostel, shelter) or takes care of the expenses agreed between the two parties when the workers have accommodation. In more detail, the latter formula consists of the fact that when the workers have accommodation or obtain it by their own means, they can agree in writing with the farmer to be responsible for the expenses justified by the seasonal workers during the working days.
Among the keys to this agricultural agreement, a 10% increase in salaries stands out until 2025 and with retroactive effect: 4% for 2023, 3% for 24 and another 3% for 2025.
Commission on Migration Flows
Precisely this Wednesday, the Commission of Migration Flows met to work on the proper development of agricultural campaigns in La Rioja and positively evaluated the agricultural agreement. The union side highlights the wage increases it is collecting after more than 10 years of frost, flexibility in accommodation was a demand of the farmers.
The government delegate in La Rioja, Beatriz Arraiz Nalda, stressed that in the September 2023 meeting, the holding of this Commission was brought forward in order to be able to address with foresight the problems that arise in the different agricultural campaigns that are taking place in La Rioja.
In the agenda, several points related to the hiring of workers for this campaign were addressed. Representatives of the agricultural sector expressed their concern about the shortage of labor detected in recent agricultural campaigns. In this sense, it was established to launch channels of direct collaboration between agricultural organizations and administrations and entities to put workers and employers in contact.
As in previous agricultural campaigns, in relation to the General Administration of the State, the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate will control the conditions of hiring workers, as well as the control of regulations in matters of social security, employment, foreigners and risk prevention.
In addition, the Labor Inspectorate, in collaboration with state security forces and agencies, will work to detect the impersonation of agricultural workers, illegal hiring and any violation of workers’ rights.
