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Employing berry pickers

Prior to the berry picking season of 2011, The Swedish Migration Board has established new work permit requirements for those who want to pick berries in Sweden. The purpose of the new requirements is to ensure the salary of the foreign berry pickers and that he/she has received information about the job and Swedish regulations.

The berry picker must be offered a wage and other conditions of employment that are on a par with Swedish collective agreements. The work permit must be granted before the picker travels to Sweden.

In order for the berry picker to be granted a work permit


In order for the berry picker to be granted a work permit, the following conditions must be satisfied
  • The berry picker has a valid passport
  • The berry picker can support himself from this work
  • The employer has advertised the position in Sweden and the EU for at least ten days (new recruitments)
  • The employer offers conditions of employment on a par with Swedish collective agreements or whatever is customary within the occupation or industry. The work must be on such a scale that the worker earns at least SEK13,000 amonth
  • The employer must prove that the berry picker has received sufficient information about the type of work he/she will carry out, public rights and traffic safety regulations
  • The employer must prove that they can pay the salary stated in the offer of employment
  • The employer who has previously hired berry pickers, must prove that he/she has paid their wages from the year before
  • The employer or client gives the trade union organisations concerned the opportunity to comment on the conditions of employment in the offer of employment.

 


Different forms of employment


If you have a Swedish company and would like to employ foreign berry pickers, you must begin by advertising the vacant positions in Sweden and within the EU for at least ten days. Then you must complete form 232011, Offer of Employment, in which you should certify the wage and conditions of employment the berry pickers will be offered.

In those cases where the picker is employed by a foreign company  the company must have  a subsidiary registered in Sweden. It is the subsidiary that is to guarantee the conditions of employment that applies in the Offer of employment, but the company doesn´t have to advertise the jobs beforehand.
 

The trade union should be given the opportunity to comment


A requirement when considering an application for a work permit is that the trade union concerned has been given the opportunity to comment on the conditions of employment.

Once you have completed the Offer of Employment form, the Migration Board would like you, the employer, to give the Swedish Municipal Workers' Union the opportunity to comment on the conditions of employment offered. Providing these comments along with the application will reduce the processing time. The Board would like you to do this regardless of whether or not you have entered into a collective agreement. The Swedish Municipal Workers' Union's address is PO Box19039 , 104 32 Stockholm

Providing a complete application will make thing go faster


Applications for work permits should be submitted to the Swedish Embassy in the worker's homeland or the country outside Sweden in which the worker is resident. The berry picker should attach the Offer of Employment form along with the trade union's comments in his application for a work permit. A complete application will be quicker to process.

Facts about the agreements


LO, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, has decided that the Swedish Municipal Workers' Union should have the right to organise and negotiate contracts for pickers of wild berries. This means that it is also the Swedish Municipal Workers' Union that should be given the opportunity to comment on the conditions of employment offered.

According to LO, the framework agreement with the Swedish Association of Forestry and Agricultural Employees is the collective agreement for companies operating in Sweden. The agreed minimum wage in this agreement is SEK 16,372 per month (applies to the period 1 June 2009 – 31 May 2010).
 
In those cases where the picker is employed by a foreign manpower company that does not operate in Sweden, it is the Manpower Agreement that will apply. The minimum wage level in this agreement is SEK 17,730 per month. This applies regardless of whether or not the foreign manpower company has entered into a collective agreement.

 

Page updated: 2011-04-11