UNIT 8: Challenges for workers’ participation in agriculture
Workers’ participation in agricultural sector in most of European countries is bellow satisfactory level. This means, among other, that the share of companies falling under Information and Consultation Directive or corresponding national legislation that have set up information and consultation procedures is lower than in most of the other sectors.
This can to a large extent be explained by the structure of the sector (predominance of small, family-owned farms), high share of precarious forms of employment (seasonal work, informal work, in some countries high share of foreign workers) and small share of workers organised in trade unions.
On top of this, in many countries agricultural sector is facing serious economic, demographic and climate challenges, which often keep focus of stakeholders away from workers’ participation. However, these challenges are only additional reasons to develop and improve existing workers’ participation mechanisms, as they can help in addressing them.
Main challenges for workers’ participation in agriculture include:
- Predominance of small, family-owned farms
- High share of precarious employment
- Low unionisation rate
- Negative attitudes of management
- Lack of tradition and experience
- Underdeveloped legal framework
