The goal of the governments of Spain and Morocco is to have an ordered and safe recruitment campaign at origin for the berry harvest. Thus, the two have held a meeting in Huelva attended by the General Director for Migrations of the Ministry of Labor, Antonio Alarcón; the Secretary General of the Ministry of Labor of Morocco, Noureddine Benkhalil; the subdelegate of the Government, Manuela Parralo; and the delegate of the Government of Andalusia in Huelva, Francisco José Romero; in addition to social agents.
Spain and Morocco have introduced several new features to ensure that the new season develops in the best possible conditions. The objective is to prevent a repeat of any of last year's complications.
According to the Director General for Migrations of the Ministry of Labor, some changes have been made to facilitate the entire process, from preparation to completion, so that the immigration campaign is "exemplary, safe and orderly," since it is also a migratory flow that Huelva, Andalusia and Spain benefit from.
Regarding the number of workers hired at origin, the forecast points to figures similar to last season's, taking into account the cultivated acreage and the needs of entrepreneurs. In any case, the Andalusian Employment Service is still receiving offers, so it will be necessary to wait for the final figure.
The secretary general of Morocco said that the recruitment program at origin clearly shows the strength of the collaboration between Spain and its neighboring country, and stressed that it is an exemplary plan when it comes to circular immigration, both at bilateral level and in the European Union.
Benkhalil said, however, that this cooperation framework still needs improvements; that there is room for them and that both parties have already identified ways to boost the program's development.
These include awareness campaigns such as the one carried out by Morocco, which has been using videos to show the working conditions and explain the rights and obligations of labourers. On the Spanish side, work is being done on certain aspects, such as the increase in the number of mediators from the Government of Andalusia, so that temporary workers can contact them when they have problems and thus receive information and assistance in case of need.
The Government of Andalusia will follow this up through the Immigration Forum and some social organizations. The idea is to know at all times what the real situation of the workers is and thus "have a quieter campaign than the previous one."
Source: huelvainformacion.es