There is a shortage of laborers in the countryside – they are looking for workers for seasonal work / Article

There is a shortage of workers, but not all students are hired

SIA “Arosa-R” is a family company that is engaged in the cultivation of large bush blueberries and their seedlings. The company was founded in 2001, this year the blueberry fields already occupy 93 hectares. Harvesting is expected at the beginning of July, then helping hands are very much needed, even 100 people, because machines will not be suitable for this work. Working hard, you can earn 50 and 60 euros a day.

“You have to wash your hands before picking berries, you have to pick berries properly, you have to pick ripe berries, neither damaged nor green. Then the berries have to be taken out by the foreman, who looks at whether the quality is adequate, and you have to come to work on time, and we work,” SIA Arosa told about the requirements. R” works manager Mārtiņš Rudzāts.

However, this owner also admitted that it is not easy to find the required number of workers.

“The response during the season is divided into berries, but there is no such volume, of course. We cannot provide with local labor. We cannot 100, 120 [cilvēkus atrast] – this is impossible,” said Mārtiņš Rudzāts.

Similar to many other farms, foreigners, mostly Ukrainian refugees, can also be found at his place. Since the crop must be harvested quite quickly, pupils and students are also invited to help.

“If the student calls himself and is interested, we accept him. If his mother calls, then we avoid accepting such students. We have had experience that if a person is interested, we accept him, there are no problems,

but that’s how we avoid schoolchildren whose parents want to re-educate or teach them the virtue of work…” revealed Mārtiņš Rudzāts.

Zemnieku Saeima: Getting decent employees is not easy

In spring, summer and autumn, the seasonal work is different – picking stones from the field, sowing, picking seedlings, weeding, harvesting, working with cattle in barns. It is not easy to get decent employees, admits Zemnieku in the Saeima.

“There are places where the population is smaller, where various addiction problems are perhaps greater. It is difficult to attract those who have remained in rural regions, because undoubtedly a large part of Latvia’s population – those who could also work in seasonal jobs – have left Latvian,

and those who have remained are not the most qualified and the most willing to work,” admitted Maira Dzelzkalėja-Burmistre, deputy chairman of the board of the Zemnieku Saeima.

Employers can pay migrant workers employed in Latvia for three months the average wage in the industry, not in the country, as was the case before.

However, employers do not really feel the effect of these changes yet – they will see when the hottest working hours begin.