When Germans Join Migrant Field Hands, the Harvest Suffers

Polish nurses take time off during the asparagus harvest in Germany, where they can earn six months of nursing wages with only two months in the fields. Polish migrants traditionally harvest the spring asparagus crop in Germany – and appreciate the pay for work that is long and strenuous. The system pleased both migrants and farmers, but the German Labor Ministry – responding to a 11 percent unemployment rate and claims that foreigners take jobs – decided to tinker with the harvest, requiring that at least 10 percent of the labor force should be German, particularly the unemployed. The government then subsidizes the wages of German workers. But distraught farmers contend that the German pickers lack practice, motivation and efficiency. Another EU regulation, in effect since Poland's admittance to the EU in 2004, would require the migrants to deposit up to half of their earnings from the harvest season into social security. German farmers fret that coveted Eastern European workers will seek work elsewhere in Europe, such as Spain, England or Denmark, where enforcement of the EU social security law is less harsh. Neighboring countries with mismatched wages and benefits try regulations to restore economic stability and reduce unemployment, but could end up chasing the most eager help away. – YaleGlobal