(With a sub plot of the EU defending workers rights and sticking it to da man!)
Migrant workers on Spanish farms that provide fruit and vegetables for UKsupermarkets are trapped in dire conditions under lockdown, living in cardboard and plastic shelters without food or running water.
Thousands of workers, many of them undocumented, live in settlements between huge greenhouses on farms in the southern Spanish provinces of Huelva and Almeria, key regions for European supply chains.
Local union activists have been supporting the migrants, bringing them water, food and basic supplies since Spain declared a lockdown in mid March.
Clare Carlile from Ethical Consumer, a UK charity supporting the local activists, says the situation is the result of years of neglect of workers.
“They got visited by the Spanish army on the 18th of March and told to stay put, even though in some places running water is several kilometres away. Now, with Covid fears, a water truck comes twice a week. If you are at work and miss it you must walk several kilometres for water after a hard day.
“Failure of employers provide basic rights has for years created dire circumstances for the inhabitants of the settlements. Now, the pandemic has pushed the situation to crisis point.”
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