Importing foreign workers for catalan agriculture (Spain). The case of the Farmers Union Unió de Pagesos

Abstract

The paper we present aims to show the consequences that the system implemented by the agricultural union Unio de Pagesos to recruit, import and supply of foreign labor for Catalonian agriculture provides: that is a subject that has limited liberties and who is deprived of some of his basic rights. The immigration policy is responsible for the emergency of such a system, whose origin is rooted in the symbiotic relation between the State and the Union. Their interests -, on one side the social control of the immigrant and on the other a just in time provision of labor- are harmonized and put into practice through such a system. The accommodation -infrastructure of the system- tends to docilize the workers, something necessary for their continuous supply to the farmers. This docilization is carried on through different means, such as accommodation regulations, constant supervision of their everyday life and visit regimes.