Moroccan fruit pickers say they were exploited, harassed in Spain

Ten women who left their children at home in Morocco to earn money picking strawberries in southern Spain have said they were lied to, exploited and even sexually harassed.

They told AFP how their seasonal jobs turned into a nightmare, with punishing work schedules, “free” accommodation they had to pay for, and in one case attempted rape by a manager. The claims have prompted fears that such exploitation may be more common across the industry in Spain’s south, which is Europe’s top fruit and vegetable exporter.

The women are currently living in the southern region of Andalusia, housed by the local SAT union, which is supporting them in an area they asked not be made public. Five have filed official complaints and the others are planning to do so.

They are all mothers - having children is a condition to get the job, a guarantee that they will return to Morocco at the end of the February-June picking season.

Creating scandal

“What is in the contract has nothing to do with reality,” says Layla, 31, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, as was those of the others who spoke to AFP.

Layla is one of 16,000 Moroccan women who went to Andalusia to pick strawberries earlier this year, compelled by poverty back home. Like the other nine women, Layla worked in the province of Huelva in Andalusia for the large Donana 1998 company, which categorically denied the allegations and had accused the women of creating a scandal to try to stay in Spain.

Adiba, 35, says the contract she signed in Morocco offered a salary of $46 to $47 (Sh4,648 to Sh4,749) a day for six-and-a-half hours of work, with one day off every week. But instead she says “we were told it was the second harvest” and they would be paid for how much they picked - 75 cents for every five-kilogramme crate.