Enforcement of Minimum Labor Standards and Institutionalized Exploitation of Seasonal Agricultural Workers in the EU

Abstract

Abstract This chapter focuses on labor rights of mobile seasonal workers, and the enforcement thereof, in the agricultural and forestry sector of the EU. We demonstrate that although the EU has explicitly acknowledged the precarious working conditions of seasonal agricultural workers and the need to change policies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic at the discursive level, the EU continues to have very limited enforcement capacities and competencies and plays an ambivalent role. As enforcement continues to depend on Member States’ policies and measures, we compare enforcement practices in the agriculture and forestry sector across four countries with different enforcement regimes—Austria, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Our analysis suggests that seasonal workers’ rights in agriculture and forestry are neglected across countries, irrespective of enforcement regime. We argue that the scant efforts made to enforce these workers’ rights amounts to institutionalized exploitation of seasonal workers.