UNIT 7: Labour relations in agriculture
Agricultural sector employs around 10 million workers in the EU and accounts for around 1.4 percent of GDP (2022). Its relative size in GDP and total employment, as well as structure of the sector and its main products, vary among the member states, but it is strategically important for all the countries.
In terms of business operations and working conditions, agriculture is a very diverse sector, including family farms and very small companies, as well as large national and multinational companies.
In most of the countries there is a strong predominance of small, family-owned farms, which employ only family members or additionally only smaller number of seasonal workers. According to Eurostat, in 2016 nine out of ten agricultural workers in the EU were either the farm owners or their family members.
However, in all the countries there are also large agricultural companies. Legal framework on workers’ participation in most countries applies only to larger companies, which usually account only for a small minority of total employment in agriculture.
Labour relations in agriculture are characterised by high proportion of precarious and even illegal working conditions, especially for seasonal and migrant workers which count for significant share in its employment.
Working conditions are very diverse, but work is often physically demanding and influenced by weather conditions, seasonality and level of mechanisation.
Agriculture records more workplace accidents and illnesses than most of the other sectors, reasons for which include, among other, intense physical effort, use of machinery and chemicals, and exposure to natural elements.
In most of the countries there are trade unions and employers’ associations in the sector, and they are the key stakeholders in workers’ participation. There are also various other organisations, such as chambers, associations and cooperatives, representing the interests of agricultural producers.
Due to structure of the sector and its employment conditions, agriculture has low unionisation rate compared to industrial and service sectors.
