Migrant workers in agriculture, sustainability and justice in Europe and UK
Migrant workers in agriculture, sustainability and justice in Europe and UK
International workshop co-organised by Cornell University and the University of Leeds
Dr Roxana Barbulescu and Dr Johanna Schenner
15th of March 2022
11.00-16.00 GMT , 6.00-10.00 EST
Zoom https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcOyprj4sHtSnHQuSS6zCTkeBhu__mlDh
Migrant workers make up a significant part of the food and agriculture sectors in contemporary Europe and the UK. The recent Covid pandemic brought to the fore the contribution of migrant workers as well as shedding new light on their working conditions, access to a limited bundle of rights as temporary migrants and rising inequalities at destination and at origin. Seasonal worker programmes for agriculture are some of the oldest immigration routes in developed countries and they continue to attract almost a million migrant workers in Europe and the UK. Agricultural work is seasonal, low paid with minimal social rights and in remote geographical areas. Furthermore, in the wake of COP26, the environmental crisis and commitments to net zero posit new questions about the sustainability of local food systems to which seasonal migrant workers are recruited annually. Whilst recruiting from the domestic workforce is difficult, even during times of historical low unemployment levels as we observe in the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal workers have become critically dependent for ensuring locally produce fresh fruit and vegetables.
On the eve of transformational change in agriculture responding to environmental concerns and scaling automation, this international workshop brings together experts and practitioners from Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Sweden, Poland, Romania, the UK and the US for a renewed conversation on the migrant worker programmes for agriculture in contemporary Europe and UK.
Opening 11.00 GMT
Welcome from Dr Roxana Barbulescu (University of Leeds) and Dr Johanna Schenner (Cornell University)
Opening remarks
Professor Louise Waite, Director of Leeds Social Sciences, University of Leeds
Panel One 11.30-13.00
Chair: Prof Carlos Vargas Silva
Dr. Albin Dearing, European Agency for Fundamental Rights
Dr. Charlotta Hedberg Umea University, Sweden
Dr. Natalia Ollus, European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control
Dr Pietro Cingolani University of Bologna and FIERI, Italy
Coffee break
Panel two
13.15-14.15
Chair: Prof Shannon Marie Gleeson, Department of Labor Relations, Law, & History, Cornell University
Prof Martin Seeileb Kaiser and Dr Cecilia Bruzelius, Tubingen University, Germany
Dr Remus Anghel, University of Babes Bolyai and University of Bucharest, Romania
Dr Frederic Decosse and Charline Sempere , University of Sheffield and Laboratoire d’Économie et de Sociologie du Travail, CNRS, France
Coffee break
Panel three
14.20-15.40
Chair Dr Johanna Schnner
Dr Berta Güell, CIDOB Spain
Dr Roxana Barbulescu and Dr Bethany Robertson, University of Leeds, UK
Professor Paweł Kaczmarczyk, Dr Kamila Fialkowska, Dr Kamil Matuszczyk Centre for Migration Research, University of Warsaw Poland
Dr. Vladimir Bogoeski, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
15.40-16.00
Journalist TBC