A success story for the EU and seasonal workers’ rights without reinventing the wheel. EPC Policy Brief, 28 March 2014

Despite the economic crisis with resulting high unemployment, EU economies face vacancies across the skill spectrum. At the low end there is a structural need when it comes to seasonal work. The Seasonal Workers Directive was launched at the same time as the Inter-Corporate Transferees (ICTs) Directive in 2010 – as part of the Commission’s 2005 Policy Plan on Legal Migration – and initially appeared to be more troublesome, with the stigma of ‘migrants stealing local jobs’ haunting it. However, without the provisions for intra-EU mobility that have plagued the ICTs Directive, the Seasonal Workers Directive became less problematic despite the fact that seasonal workers are more numerous than intra-corporate transferees. This Policy Brief looks at how negotiating parties ensured a focus not only on the needs of the European labour market, but also saw an opportunity to bring added value to seasonal workers’ rights, through equal treatment to EU nationals. It assesses the final outcome of three and a half years of intra-EU negotiation, looking at the rights gained for seasonal migrants, the level of harmonization achieved, and the future of migration policy with the strategic guidelines for the area of freedom, security and justice in mind.

Seasonal workers in California: A study of four seasonal industries to provide basic data relating to the problem of eligibility for unemployment insurance.

Cover has: Research series. Bulletin no. 21. California. Employment Stabilization Commission.

Seasonal workers and unemployment compensation,

Mode of access: Internet.

Ethnic identification: Impact on HIV/AIDS risk among migrant and seasonal workers in South Florida

Migrant workers are one of the most rapidly growing populations in the United States (U.S.) and have been significantly affected by HIV/AIDS. More than 9 million people in the U.S., primarily concentrated in Texas, Florida, Washington, California, Oregon, and North Carolina, are migrant farm workers. High prevalence rates are also suspected among migrant worker communities where risky health behaviors appear to be common. Constant mobility, isolation, limited education, substandard housing, and poverty are some of the factors that migrant workers experience and in many cases increases their HIV risk. Recent studies have suggested that ethnic identity or the level of attachment with one's ethnic group may influence engagement in HIV risk behaviors, a fact that may be important in the development of interventions among ethnic minorities. This study assesses the relationship between ethnic identity and HIV risk behaviors in two different samples; one assesses this relationship at baseline with a total of 431 African American migrant and seasonal workers in Immokalee, Florida. The second analyzes changes in ethnic identity and HIV behaviors in a sample of 270 Hispanic and African American migrant and seasonal workers in Immokalee, Florida. Data from baseline and 6-month follow-up were used in the analyses presented. The results suggest that individuals with higher levels of ethnic identity report lower levels of engagement in some, but not all, of the risky behaviors examined. These findings point to a potentially protective role for ethnic identity among this sample.

Legal Responsibilities When Hiring Migrant, Seasonal and H2-A Visa Workers

When farmers need to harvest a large amount of crops in a short period of time, migrant, seasonal, and H-2A Visa workers can often be the best solution to complete the job quickly and affordably. However, there are specific Federal and state legal duties and responsibilities for farmers who employ these types of workers and substantial criminal and civil penalties for failing to adhere to the law.

Partnerships for skilling a seasonal workforce

As a group, seasonal workers tend to fall through the formal training net. The temporary nature of their work and the traditional understanding that seasonal work is unskilled has provided little impetus for workers, employers, providers or government to consider formal training. In this qualitative study of two regions, one in Circular Head, Tasmania and the other in Wide Bay-Burnett, Queensland, collaborative arrangements between stakeholders resulted in training benefiting seasonal workers, employers and the regional industry.The study showed that training must be integrated into industry and community processes and planning at a regional level to ensure training is beneficial to and accepted by seasonal workers and employers. This paper explores who was involved in these regional collaborative arrangements, how the collaborative arrangements came into being and how plans were put into action.

The mobile skilled workforce : optimising benefits for rural communities

Many small rural communities with ageing populations and limited opportunities for young people are not attracting skilled workers, but have a flow of skilled people through the community as locums, seasonal workers or contractors. This project investigated the question: how can rural communities capture maximum benefit from professional and other highly skilled workers in the context of an increasingly mobile and transitory workforce? It found that rural communities derive a wide range of benefits from mobile skilled workers. Effectiveness of the integration process determines the nature and extent of mobile skilled worker contribution to the community. Community settings that encourage and support mobile skilled worker integration are identified in terms of culture, leadership and interactional infrastructure. These same settings also influence mobile skilled worker retention in rural communities. Rural communities need to be proactive in matching worker and community characteristics, and this begins with the recruitment process. Mobile skilled workers need assistance and support to develop a primary social contract, and the process needs to be monitored. This is a community-wide responsibility and requires a coordinated, whole-of-community approach. This is the first Australian study to explore how rural communities can capture the advantages from highly skilled mobile workers. Rural communities that make the most of the available pool of skills can increase resilience, identification and uptake of opportunities such as new enterprises, good practice in natural resource management, enhanced social and leisure opportunities, and the quality and range of local services. The importance of this report is that it provides a broad range of strategies for rural communities wanting to know how to optimise the benefits they derive from mobile skilled workers, regardless of their location or rural industry base.

Migração e trabalho: impactos do processo migratório na vivência da mulher nordestina

Pós-graduação em Serviço Social - FCHS

Young adults’ perceptions of and affective bonds to a rural tourism community

Many rural areas, in Sweden and worldwide, experience population decline where the young leave for education and work in urban areas. Employment has declined in several rural industries, such as agriculture, forestry, and fishing, while growing in other industries are often located in urban areas. Politicians and organizations have put much hope in tourism as a tool of rural development, but can tourism help reverse the rural out-migration trend among young adults? This paper explores how tourism affects young inhabitants’ perceptions of and affective bonds to a rural area in Sweden, the ski resort of Sälen. Students from the 1993–1995 elementary school graduating classes were interviewed about their migration history, childhood, and view of and ties to Sälen. The respondents experience that tourism contributes to a more vital community incorporating influences from elsewhere, but without eliminating the positive aspects of rural life. The regular flow of people – tourists, seasonal workers, and entrepreneurs – passing through Sälen presents opportunities to extend one’s social network that are widely appreciated by respondents. The high in and out mobility constitutes a key part of Sälen’s character. Contributions from tourism – such as employment, entertainment, leisure, and opportunities to forge new social relationships – are available during the adult transition, the life phase when rural areas are often perceived as least attractive. Even though out-migration occurs in Sälen, and some respondents still find Sälen too small, tourism has clearly increased the available opportunities and contributed significantly to making Sälen more attractive to young adults.

Proceedings of the first Office of Economic Opportunity Conference on Antipoverty Programs for Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers, January 18-20, 1966, United States Department of State, Washington, D. C. ...

Cover title.

Estimating the need and supply of hired seasonal farm workers, Baldwin County, Alabama.

"April 1955."

Outdoor worker sun protection project : a comprehensive applied research project to demonstrate the effectiveness of sun protection measures which influence high risk outdoor workers in Queensland to adopt sun safe behaviour practices 2010 – 2013

The QUT Outdoor Worker Sun Protection (OWSP) project undertook a comprehensive applied health promotion project to demonstrate the effectiveness of sun protection measures which influence high risk outdoor workers in Queensland to adopt sun safe behaviours. The three year project (2010-2013) was driven by two key concepts: 1) The hierarchy of control, which is used to address risks in the workplace, advocates for six control measures that need to be considered in order of priority (refer to Section 3.4.2); and 2) the Ottawa Charter which recommends five action means to achieve health promotion (refer to Section 2.1). The project framework was underpinned by a participatory action research approach that valued peoples’ input, took advantage of existing skills and resources, and stimulated innovation (refer to Section 4.2). Fourteen workplaces (small and large) with a majority outdoor workforce were recruited across regional Queensland (Darling Downs, Northwest, Mackay and Cairns) from four industries types: 1) building and construction, 2) rural and farming, 3) local government, and 4) public sector. A workplace champion was identified at each workplace and was supported (through resource provision, regular contact and site visits) over a 14 to 18 month intervention period to make sun safety a priority in their workplace. Employees and employers were independently assessed for pre- and postintervention sun protection behaviours. As part of the intervention, an individualised sun safety action plan was developed in conjunction with each workplace to guide changes across six key strategy areas including: 1) Policy (e.g., adopt sun safety practices during all company events); 2) Structural and environmental (e.g., shade on worksites; eliminate or minimise reflective surfaces); 3) Personal protective equipment (PPE) (e.g., trial different types of sunscreens, or wide-brimmed hats); 4) Education and awareness (e.g., include sun safety in inductions and toolbox talks; send reminder emails or text messages to workers);5) Role modelling (e.g., by managers, supervisors, workplace champions and mentors); and 6) Skin examinations (e.g., allow time off work for skin checks). The participatory action process revealed that there was no “one size fits all” approach to sun safety in the workplace; a comprehensive, tailored approach was fundamental. This included providing workplaces with information, resources, skills, know how, incentives and practical help. For example, workplaces engaged in farming complete differing seasonal tasks across the year and needed to prepare for optimal sun safety of their workers during less labour intensive times. In some construction workplaces, long pants were considered a trip hazard and could not be used as part of a PPE strategy. Culture change was difficult to achieve and workplace champions needed guidance on the steps to facilitate this (e.g., influencing leaders through peer support, mentoring and role modelling). With the assistance of the project team the majority of workplaces were able to successfully implement the sun safety strategies contained within their action plans, up skilling them in the evidence for sun safety, how to overcome barriers, how to negotiate with all relevant parties and assess success. The most important enablers to the implementation of a successful action plan were a pro-active workplace champion, strong employee engagement, supportive management, the use of highly visual educational resources, and external support (provided by the project team through regular contact either directly through phone calls or indirectly through emails and e-newsletters). Identified barriers included a lack of time, the multiple roles of workplace champions, (especially among smaller workplaces), competing issues leading to a lack of priority for sun safety, the culture of outdoor workers, and costs or budgeting constraints. The level of sun safety awareness, knowledge, and sun protective behaviours reported by the workers increased between pre-and post-intervention. Of the nine sun protective behaviours that were assessed, the largest changes reported included a 26% increase in workers who “usually or always” wore a broad-brimmed hat, a 20% increase in the use of natural shade, a 19% increase in workers wearing long-sleeved collared shirts, and a 16% increase in workers wearing long trousers.

Body size differs in workers produced across time and is associated with variation in the quantity and composition of larval food in Nannotrigona perilampoides (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)

Although variation in body size has been recently reported in stingless bees (Meliponini), empirical evidence evaluating possible factors related to such variation is lacking, and thus it is not clear if it may have an adaptive significance. We evaluated if variation in the body size and weight of workers of stingless bees fluctuates across a seasonal pattern and if this could be related to characteristics of the food consumed during the larval stage. The weight of larval provisions, their protein, and sugar content were evaluated in four colonies of Nannotrigona perilampoides every 2 months across 1 year. Worker-destined larvae from the same combs were allowed to develop and were sampled as callow workers to determine their weight and size using morphometric data. The weight and size of workers were highly correlated and varied across the seasons in established colonies, suggesting that size variation cycles across the year in stingless bees. An increase in the protein content and, to a lesser degree, the quantity of larval food were positively linked to variation in body weight and size; food with richer protein content resulted in larger and heavier workers. This study provides the first evidence of an effect of the quantity and composition of larval food on the size of workers in stingless bees. Although body weight and size of workers differed across seasons, they were not readily noticeable as changes seem to occur as a continuum across the year. Since size polymorphism was of a larger magnitude across time but not within age cohorts and as it was highly determined by food resources, it may not be an adaptive feature in stingless bees. However, more studies are needed to determine the role of the cyclical change in worker body size on colony performance and thus its adaptive significance in stingless bees.