Styrian farmers seek lower costs and more seasonal worker quotas

Farmers in Styria are calling for a special model to reduce labour costs and increase quotas for seasonal workers, ORF reported. They say harvesting would not be possible without temporary workers, while finding enough staff is becoming increasingly difficult.

Fruit harvesting requires a large workforce for a short period, said Manfred Kohlfürst, head of Styrian fruit growing. He called for a special wage-cost model to help labour-intensive crops remain competitive in Europe, as table fruit and vegetables must be harvested by hand.

Under the proposed model, certain payroll-related costs would be waived or covered by the public sector for six, eight or possibly ten weeks. Kohlfürst said a similar system exists in South Tyrol and would make the workers less expensive for employers.

He also said the quota for workers from non-EU countries was too low. In recent years, farms had employed many workers from Hungary, Poland and Romania, as well as displaced people from Ukraine. If displaced people lose their status, farms will need more workers from outside Europe, but the existing quotas will not be sufficient, he said.

“We currently have just over 600 people per month whom we are allowed to employ in agriculture from outside Europe under this quota,” Kohlfürst said. He added that more workers were arriving from Asia, particularly Nepal and Vietnam, increasing pressure on the available quota places.

Martin Palz, head of Styria’s wine growers, also reported growing difficulty in finding enough workers willing to help with the grape harvest. Fewer workers are coming from Slovenia and grape harvesting is becoming less attractive, meaning employers have to pay more and farms face higher costs.