Lleida council opens centre to help seasonal fruit pickers

As fruit picking season gets underway, seasonal workers have already started arriving in Lleida. Many of the problems seen in recent years, however, remain unsolved.  In order to combat this, the local council has opened a centre in order to help out workers.

Despite this, around 80 fruit pickers are currently sleeping in the streets of the city, according to one group that aims to improve their working conditions. 

This is an ongoing issue for seasonal fruit pickers. In previous years, many workers even took to the streets of Lleida, denouncing that they were underpaid and calling for an end to exploitation.

Fruit with Social Justice is a campaign that fights to change this difficult reality for the migratory workers who come to the region annually. As it stands, the local council does not provide all the necessities for seasonal workers, according to campaigners. Although at the centre they can shower and change clothes, they still have nowhere left to sleep.

“It’s not logical being able to shower every now and then, and store your suitcase, while you’re sleeping in the street,” said Gemma Casals, a spokeswoman for the campaign.

According to one seasonal worker, the situation this year has not got any easier. “They haven’t solved anything, and help is only available in the day, not in the afternoon when you finish work,” said Ahmed, a fruit picker working in the Lleida area. “In truth, it’s more difficult than last year,” he added.

Fruit with Social Justice, made up of various different organizations, has called on the local council to centralize the services already on offer as well as providing emergency accommodation.

The campaign does what it can. And this year is no different. It offers the same resources as previous seasons, aside from what the local council does. This includes food, and temporary accommodation. However this accommodation only provides a place to sleep for 83 people, while last year the number of seasonal workers that came to Lleida totalled around 200.