EU enlargement - how will it affect the Irish horticultural labour force?

Four in every 10 horticultural workers, employed at primary production level, are recruited from outside the EU15. Three quarters of these are from accession countries. So after May 1, what effect will EU enlargment have on the horticulture industry?

Joanne Fox reports

May 1 signals a milestone for the EU as we know it. The EU will grow from 15 to 25 member states and the population will increase from 376 million to nearly half a million citizens.

Perhaps the most immediate effect of enlargement will be a more liberalised labour market.From May 1 2004 workers from the 10 EU Accession States will no longer require work permits to take up employment in Ireland. The positive effect of this will be that Irish employers will no longer need to apply for work permits when recruiting from within the EU25.

According to a recent study by Bord Glas, four in every 10 horticultural workers employed at primary production level are recruited from outside the EU15.

The study also identified that three quarters of these migrant workers were from accession countries. Whilst the abolition of the work permit requirement will be welcomed by the horticultural industry, the change in recruitment policy will mean employers will have greater freedom to seek employment in other sectors of the economy and in other member states.

Declan Fennell, Bord Glas spoke to Journal 2 about the challenges faced by the horticultural industry after May 1: "Post May 1 will see the liberalisation of EU markets. This will certainly present wonderful opportunities for growers because they will no longer have the burden of work permits. It is difficult to estimate how many people will travel here but we know that our existing employees, currently on work permits, will have the freedom to move from one place of employment to another. This means they can move out of horticulture and into more mainstream industry such as construction, so there is a challenge within the horticulture sector.

"We, as employers in the horticultural sector, need to continue to look after our current employees and I have no doubt that this is already being done. Obviously certain things, like the minimum agricultural wage, will play an important role.

"The horticultural industry has always had problems in terms of recruiting through the work permit system. From that point of view I think things should be a lot easier.

We asked Declan about the potential negative impacts of accession. "There will be a transitional period where some employees will decide to leave the horticultural sector but I think the majority of growers have looked after employees on work permits very well and provided accommodation, which is a huge benefit when employees are coming over and that will continue. There will be greater mobility for employees but if employers are looking after workers well and paying them well as with any worker there should be few problems.

"From May 1 the bureaucracy of the system is gone and there will be greater mobility, and yes, greater challenges at grower level, but there will also be opportunities with more people to choose from.

The one unique thing about horticulture is the scope for mechanisation is limited and when you're growing fresh produce to a high quality ensuring food standards and quality assurance, picking by hand will always be a feature of this industry.

"There is a ratio of 2.5 horticultural workers to 1 agricultural worker so we will always rely on people''.

Macra

Macra run a seasonal horticultural workers scheme that brings in over 200 students from the Ukraine and the accession countries into Ireland to work in the horticultural sector on professional work experience. A spokesperson for Macra said: "At the moment it was difficult to tell exactly what effect liberalisation of the labour market throughout the EU25 will have on the scheme. Our view is that it won't have a huge effect considering that those involved are coming to Ireland on student work placements and they enter the sector in order to gain the necessary work experience.

"There may be an issue concerning demand for students because growers may have a choice of new workers. We will wait and see how it works out. This year demand has been reasonably good. We have the advantage in that we can guarantee students who are likely to stay the agreed time and these students also come from a horticultural background.

"All our growers comply with legal requirements for employment. May 1 will certainly present challenges for the horticultural industry as a whole but at this stage it is almost impossible to be clear as to the outcome for the horticultural industry. We are not overly worried."