FEPEX addresses the hiring of foreign workers at origin in a webinar

Last week FEPEX organized a webinar on “The hiring of foreign workers at origin”, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, in which the current regulation on the hiring of foreign workers at origin was reported. given the interest of companies that produce and export fruits, vegetables and live plants, which consider that the lack of seasonal labor is one of the main problems in the sector.

The general director of Migration, Carlos Mora Almudí, and the deputy general director of Management and Coordination of Migratory Flows, Teresa Udaondo Gascón , participated in the webinar, explaining the regulatory framework on which this type of contracting is based, especially Ministerial Order 1417/ 2023 of December 29, which regulates the collective management of contracting at source for 2024, published in the BOE on December 30. The head of the Collective Management of Source Contracting area, Antonio González de Orduña, also participated.

The hiring of foreign workers at origin is intended to cover those vacancies in which, after an analysis of the national labor situation, the hiring of foreign workers at origin is required. It is subject, therefore, to verifying that there are no candidates in Spain for the positions offered.

The hiring of foreign workers at origin is subject to verifying that there are no candidates in Spain for the positions offered.

This type of contract basically consists of granting a temporary residence and work authorization to foreign citizens who are not located or residing in Spain, with a duration of four years , which enables them to reside and work in a single labor sector. for a maximum period of nine months a year . After the work period has passed, they return to their countries of origin. Hiring is of a fixed-discontinuous nature and is intended to cover positions of a seasonal, seasonal or campaign nature. Both employers and workers have to meet a series of requirements.

In recent years, the lack of seasonal labor is becoming a problem for the development of fruit and vegetable production and marketing campaigns, as explained by the general secretary of FEPEX, Jose María Zalbidea , which is why there is an interest increasing due to this type of contracting.

For several years now, the fruit and vegetable sector has resorted to hiring foreign workers from different provinces, mainly Huelva, where its companies have traditionally used this model to meet the labor needs of their farms.

In 2023, approximately 15,000 temporary residence and paid work authorizations of a fixed duration were processed for seasonal or campaign activities in the agricultural sector, of which 90% were granted for agricultural activities in the province of Huelva.