Fascinating info from field study on #migrantworkers in #Italy ‘s farms.
In Ragusa, Romanians (new to sector) get worse wages than Tunisians (long connections, unionized)! >
In Ragusa, Romanians (new to sector) get worse wages than Tunisians (long connections, unionized)! >
Farmwork is increasingly women’s work in Italy. Asylum-seeking mothers with humanitarian permits work on farms - because having children mean employers won’t take them for domestic work.
Those fresh oranges from #Italy? The farmer got 35 cents for a kilo. Picked by Africans, Albanians, Romanians for low low wages with shitty accommodation.
In Sicily, Puglia, Calabria #migrantworkers from Africa are forced to live in camps - excluded from local society - driving hostility by local Italians.
But rural work has been a “reservoir of resilience” for foreign migrants - moving from Italian cities during economic crisis.
And farmers say these #migrantworkers are crucial to survival of Italian agriculture during that time.
And farmers say these #migrantworkers are crucial to survival of Italian agriculture during that time.
Beyond agriculture - #migrantworkers have sustained small mountain communities by providing care for Italian children & elderly.
(Info in this thread from Italian experts at closed round table - I’ll tweet their study & attribute when it’s out.)
