French minister of agriculture Bruno Le Maire yesterday announced that he had asked the European Commission to study a proposal to harmonise the rules for seasonal workers and that the response had been positive, Agrisalon.com has reported.
According to Mr Le Maire, there is a need to put an end to certain unacceptable practices that are followed in some other European countries.
“We cannot continue with a cost of seasonal work that is almost double that of our European neighbours,” he said.
However, he added that it would be unthinkable for France to lower its own labour standards and subscribe to practices that were considered morally unacceptable by the French.
“I would like for other European countries to be bound by the same type of rules, and I therefore would like the Commission to take a directive aiming to harmonise the rules for seasonal work in Europe,” he said.
