When the government announced plans last year to scrap the SAWS scheme beyond 2010, the decision was like a blow to the head for the horticulture industry. The sourcing of seasonal labour has been a problem area for many years and SAWS provided growers with an efficient solution to a major worry.
Many in the industry still believe horticulture has had to pay the price for the government making wrong decisions with regard to its migrant policies. The easiest thing for it to do was look at areas where foreign workers are heavily used and wield the axe. Then, it could be seen as doing the right thing in terms of controlling migrant workers. Not for one moment did it apparently consider what effect this would have on the horticultural industry.
Foreign workers operating in the industry can earn a tidy sum for six months work, a sum that often goes back to their own country where they might have the opportunity to invest in property, for example. The money they earn in the UK makes a big difference at home and that gives them a real reason to go back, and not seek asylum in the UK as the government thinks.
And with only a few exceptions, the industry looks after its seasonal workers very well. Most growers want consistency. They want, ideally, the same workers to come back the season after so they can build up a real team and boost morale. That is why these days their every needs are catered for. They have their own accommodation, they get taken on trips, get given bikes, DVD players, and even, in some places, have a say in how the business is run. It can no longer be described as slave labour.
But now the industry is coming to grips with the shock of losing SAWS, what will it do after 2009?
“The question of where labour comes from after SAWS is a very good one,” Christine Lumb, executive director of Concordia, tells Commercial Grower. But there is, according to the government, sufficient labour already available within the EU. “They are promoting job fairs in Bulgaria and Romania later this year, but of course, there is a 20,000 limit on those two countries, shared between the Sector Based scheme and SAWS, and there seems to be a complete disregard for the fact that, while plenty of migrant labour is arriving in the UK, much of it is destined anywhere but the horticultural sector.”
Interestingly, the education structure in Eastern Europe is moving toward the three year education system of Western Europe, so students are less accessible in April and May and must return to their home country in September, according to Lumb.
“These intelligent and well motivated young people are being replaced with a) would be migrant workers who have yet to find full time work and use the farm and accommodation as a spring-board to other jobs; b) students looking for summer work only; c) unemployed workers with probably poor language skills and no background in agriculture.It is true that from rural areas of countries like Poland, some good older workers can be found, but on large enterprises one of the other difficulties will be in managing large numbers of only one or two nationalities, something that almost everyone doesn’t want and which, it is generally acknowledged, doesn’t work.”
Once free access is given to A2 nationals, SAWS for non-EU can begin again, but, although the operators requested that consideration be given to an extension of the transition period for 2008, this was rejected.
SAWS for non-EU will cease at the end of 2007 but could feasibly begin again in 2009, should the government decide to offer full working rights to A2 countries in 2008.“But, in their wisdom, this proposal was rejected,” points out Lumb.“Of course it will be extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to renew contacts again after one year’s absence, but this is not the concern of the Home Office.There is a potential problem gathering pace in France with so many illegals waiting for rides at Sangatte, but they concentrate on keeping out seasonal temporary workers just so that our statistics look good.”
Concordia has developed a work based learning programme which is being piloted this year. Since 2004, when the government took control of SAWS, the scheme has been slowly squeezed and ‘hung out to dry’ with’ total disregard’ to the good service it performs, not just for growers in this country, but for young people from overseas for whom this is the one opportunity for work and travel to the UK.
“We would like to be able to continue to offer both the service and the opportunity, hence our new development,” says Lumb.Concordia is moving toward educational status to conform with what will be Tier 4 of the Points Based system next year. This should allow agricultural students to enter Britain in that category and take part in a work based training programme, in agreement with their university.Concordia will be offering assessments, seminars and an online City and Guilds certificate which will be credited toward their eventual degree.It will be possible to return the following year and gain further certification up to NVQ Level 4.This course is open to EU and non-EU students and will give those farms who wish to participate an opportunity to continue to have a mix of nationalities on their farm.For those who do not wish to participate, there will be EU workers as outlined above, as well as A2 nationals once they have free movement.
“Operators with the NFU and the 50 Club are trying to get a judicial review on the whole subject of SAWS but for those outside of the scheme, it is so insignificant and I believe the die is cast.For those within the industry, we know how important these workers have been, how helpful has been the guaranteed labour (even though it was never enough), what a difference it has made to so many businesses and how it has changed lives.It will be a very sad day when it finishes and in my opinion, it is such an ill-informed decision which will have an enormous effect on the horticultural sector,” says Lumb.
Philip Hudson, chief horticultural advisor at the NFU, is also concerned about the situation. “Horticulture depends on migrant labour to get fresh produce to supermarket shelves,” he says. “Without it many businesses would simply find it impossible to operate. That is why it is important that the government has a coherent policy towards the use of foreign labour and seperates the issue of migration policy from the short term seasonal demand for labour.”
The NFU is putting its weight behind lobbying government on the issue. “In the short term we are still pursuing the Home Office on a rational approach to SAWS following Romania and Bulgaria joining the EU. We have challenged their use of community preference and continue to apply political pressure on this issue ahead of the requirement in 2008 that 100 percent of the SAWS permits are required to be filledby workers from Romania and Bulgaria,” he adds.
“Longer term horticulture will need to recognise that the supply of labour from Eastern Europe is not endless. So industry needs to consider how it will fill the labour gaps that will inevitably arise. Mechanisation is one way but isn’t the solution for all.”
Growers have begun to take a practical approach to the problem. Some even believe SAWS was coming to a natural end anyway. “SAWS was a brilliant tool for growers but it had got to the stage where it had definitely run its course,” says strawberry grower Peter Wensak of Polehouse Nurseries.
Elsewhere, there is still strong support for the scheme. A leading grower, who did not wish to be named, said: “The ending of SAWS is a disaster for the industry. I can’t see there being another scheme like it being set up now despite the hard work of everyone who wants to see a similar scheme. The problem of getting seasonal labour is going to just get far worse.”
Some growers have been taking dedicated trips to eastern Europe to source students themselves, others have tried to set up agencies, but the group approach is one that has been most successful at attempting to combat the problem so far.
The Southern Co-operative for Improving Our Nurseries (SCION) was established in 2003 to overcome the increasing difficulties that growers were experiencing in obtaining a reliable and consistent supply of seasonal labour, via agencies, to supplement their full-time staff during periods of peak activity.
Describing the approach at the latest HTA conference, the managing director of AE Roberts and chairman of SCION, John Gwynn, explained: “This issue was raised at the Efford Group meeting of the Nursery Business Improvement Scheme, where a number of growers recognised that if a group of them could join together, their labour requirements could be covered year round using the negotiating leverage of the group.”
SCION was set up as a not-for-profit organisation for the group purchasing of seasonal labour and currently has thirteen member nurseries in East Dorset, Hampshire and West Sussex. It has a management committee and an independent co-ordinator who conducts the negotiations on behalf of the group. Benefits include:
Bargaining strength equals competitive rates and an improved service.
Reliable, consistent supply of quality labour, meeting all legislation and the ETI Code of Practice.
Eliminates the use of illegal/exploited labour, meets all employment legislation, to the benefit of nurseries’ customers.
Trained Core Workers available year-round to member nurseries.
SCION Contract/Terms & Conditions/Service Level Agreement covers members’ needs and interests.
SCION co-ordinator audits the agency, meaning long term security.
Eliminates the downside of ‘buying the cheapest’.
Now in its fourth year of operation, SCION provides a large, flexible and reliable bank of agency staff available for assignment, allowing its members to respond better to short-term labour demands. During 2006, which proved to be a difficult year for nurserymen, SCION made a significant contribution to the success and survival of its members. As Peter Barwick, director of Blackmoor Orchards, points out: “It’s so good to be able to call for knowledgeable people and have them turn up when I want them and have them get straight on with the job”.
The special working relationship and very rigorous contractual requirements that SCION has developed with its chosen agency, Pro-Force Ltd based in Southampton, are working well. Focusing on the nurseries’ needs, Pro-Force is responsible for candidate selection, endeavouring to ensure long-term stability and improving the nurseries’ skills base through providing SCION members with people who have a positive attitude and who demonstrate their commitment and willingness to learn and to progress through the training initiatives that are available.
Many seasonal workers employed within the scheme have now become virtually indispensable to the nurseries to which they are being rotated.
Overall the SCION group approach is now providing its members with a flexible pool of reliable seasonal workers at an extremely competitive rate. Richard Lovejoy, production director of Fresh Acres Nurseries, adds: “SCION has given us a reliable and consistent labour supply - without having to do the paperwork. The people at Pro-Force, the SCION agency, are great organisers, who make it happen.”
In 2005 SCION won a substantial Defra grant - funding a Vocational Training Scheme over three years that is enabling the nurseries to afford skills training for a selected group of seasonal workers.
This training has progressed from basic generic skills such as Plant Identification, Bed Preparation and Nursery Hygiene to more focussed skills required by the particular nursery.
Training in Propagation, Container and Field nursery skills have been included and a range of general courses in, for example, English Language, Manual handling, First Aid and Fork Lift Truck driving supplement these.
On completion of the training, successful candidates are designated Core Workers and paid an increase over the normal seasonal worker rate.
The aim is to provide Core Workers with work all year round - providing a skilled labour pool for distribution to the SCION nurseries to suit their seasonal demands.
As well as improving the motivation and reliability of the workers chosen for the Core Worker scheme, the members of SCION see this training and development to be a useful source of nursery supervision in the longer term.
“I can see a time when agencies traditionally set up to serve the domestic market with permanent employees from the UK will, despite the endless paperwork, be operating on behalf of foreign workers as well,” says Mike Fuller of Horticruitment, “If there are no more schemes such as SAWS in the future then where will seasonal workers go? How will they get into an industry that quite clearly has a demand for them?” he asks.
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