Nearly 64,000 undocumented migrants arrived in Spain in 2024, with the majority (46,843) traveling by sea to the Canary Islands. Many migrants from Morocco and West Africa who come to Spain wind up working in greenhouse agriculture in Almería, where between 25,000 and 30,000 jobs are held by undocumented migrants who are paid far less than the minimum wage and are compelled to live in filthy slums.
In Spain, industries such as intensive agriculture exploit those who make it to Spain. Long hours, intense heat, and exposure to hazardous chemicals are all part of working in the greenhouses in Almería’s “sea of plastic,” which can cause illness and even death.
The number of immigrants rises more than the need for labor in Almería as conditions in West Africa deteriorate. A displaced, homeless, and unemployed diaspora—especially from Senegal—is the end result. Authorities in Almería have responded by threatening to demolish informal settlements, relocating workers into small, airless barracks, enforcing stringent curfews, and maintaining round-the-clock surveillance.
Spain: An Agricultural Powerhouse – Standing on the Shoulders of Migrant Workforce
Although migrants make up 25% of the workforce in Almería and roughly 16% of the country’s workforce, Spain still depends on their exploitation and the desire to leave Africa after centuries of colonial devastation.
In the southern Spanish regions of Almeria and Huelva, migrant agricultural workers have been subjected to egregious violations of their fundamental rights for the past 20 years. They have been yelled at for taking bathroom breaks, forced to work in hazardous conditions, denied legal pay, harassed and sexually assaulted, and fired for joining unions.
“The miracle of Spanish food exports would not exist without labor exploitation,” according to a 2022 report sponsored by the Spanish government. This is particularly noticeable in the areas of Almeria and Huelva.
These areas supply the produce found in UK supermarkets. In the UK, one out of every six tomatoes consumed during the winter months of December through February is probably from Almeria. Huelva is probably responsible for at least half of all strawberries produced between January and March. Since at least the 1990s, Spain’s policies have essentially included the exploitation of migrant workers. GECCO, which stands for “Collective Management of Hiring in Origin” in Spanish, is its flagship program for seasonal workers, and nowhere is that more evident.
Keyword: GECCO
Migration into and out of Spain was significantly impacted by the 1990s shift from the European Economic Community to the European Union. It was once a major country of origin for migrant labor, but it is now a major destination. Spain was the world’s second-largest recipient of immigrants between 2000 and 2009, after the United States.GECCO, which was created at the beginning of the new millennium to help Spain’s declining agricultural labor force, permits employers to temporarily hire migrant workers straight from their countries of origin. 18,565 individuals from five nations received visas under the program in 2022. Moroccan women made up the largest group within this, making up over 90% of the total.
Who Watches the Watchmen?
The government took action to address labor shortages in some industries, especially the agricultural and service sectors, as well as to prevent permanent settlement as immigrants to Spain progressively obtained regular status and advanced in their careers. They aimed to impose stricter restrictions on the duration of their stay and to be more selective about who they allowed in.
Similar to other programs for seasonal workers in Canada, Sweden, Japan, Australia, or Israel, GECCO is purposefully made to give employers a tool that precisely suits their requirements. However, it lacks a counterbalance that would enable migrants to exercise their rights or participate in decisions that impact them.
Compliance monitoring would be a key component of those reforms, according to independent news source openDemocracy. To guarantee safety and respect within GECCO and other temporary migration programs, specific public bodies should be established in collaboration with trade unions and migrant workers. Employees should be able to voice concerns about issues at work through the appropriate channels without worrying about the repercussions. Additionally, employers who mistreat their employees ought to answer for it. Only then will policymakers be able to defend referring to temporary migration programs like GECCO as “win-win.”
