Problems Continue in the Horticulture Sector: the Seasonal Workers Pilot Review 2019

Abstract

In March 2019, the UK government launched a pilot scheme offering six-month visas to migrant workers in the horticulture sector. The first year of operation of this scheme has now been evaluated by the Home Office and the Department for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).1 It would have been easy to overlook the publication of this review, taking place as it did on 24 December 2021. However, it offers important insights into the problems experienced by workers in the sector and casts doubt on the wisdom of temporary visa schemes as a solution to labour shortages, given the additional vulnerabilities they create. This note offers a short history of seasonal agricultural work by way of background, before examining the Seasonal Workers Pilot (SWP) and the key findings of the government’s own evaluation. An early incarnation of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) was set up in 1945 to tackle post-war labour shortages.2 This encouraged young workers, often students, to spend short periods of time living on farms, picking fruit and vegetables during peak harvest times, which typically coincided with vacations. It was envisaged as a form of cultural exchange, with young people from the UK encouraged to spend time in other countries to assist with post-war reconstruction efforts.