Foreign workers take farming jobs

Workers from Eastern Europe working at low wages for Danish farmers force Danish agricultural workers in peripheral Denmark out of their jobs, says labour union 3F.

The criticism is rooted in new unemployment statistics which show that unemployment among agricultural and horticultural workers organized in 3F has climbed from 11 to 22 percent in just two years.

Widespread in agricultural sector
There are no statistics of how many Eastern Europeans work in the Danish agricultural sector. 3F thinks the number is increasing rapidly. And the president of the Danish Association of Pig Farmers, Henrik Mortensen, estimates that more than half of all Danish pig farmers employ workers from Eastern Europe.

The problem, according to 3F, is that most Eastern European workers are not paid anywhere near enough for their work.

- Employers attempt to undermine the Danish labour market by forcing lower salaries, says Morten Fischer Nielsen, secretary of negotiations in 3F.

15,000 a month
The president of the Danish Association of Pig Farmers, Henrik Mortensen, currently employs a Romanian man at DKK 15,000 a month. But that salary is far too low, according to 3F. The man should be paid 20-22,000 a month, according to Morten Fischer Nielsen from 3F.

Employing cheap, Eastern European labour is not illegal. And according to the pig farmers' president, labour union 3F should understand that Danish farmers are in stiff competition with farmers from other countries, where cheap labour is employed to an even greater degree.

- We have to consider out expenses, and salaries is one of the parameters, says Henrik Mortensen.

Translated by Martin Lamberth, Statsbiblioteket