European Union improves rights of foreign seasonal workers

Seasonal workers from outside the European Union are set to get better conditions, including a minimum wage and accommodation, under a deal Thursday between the European Parliament and 28 national delegates, AFP has reported.

Some 100,000 workers a year will see a marked improvement in wages and welfare while also winning rights to holidays, pensions and training under the agreement massively endorsed by the parliament's Civil Liberties committee.

It is to be put to a vote by the full parliament early next year and if agreed would come into effect within two and a half years.

The compromise deal hammered out by government representatives and MEPs "will be a strong tool to ensure humane conditions for low-wage workers, discourage undercutting and benefit good employers," said British lawmaker Claude Moraes, the parliament's rapporteur.

The rules, aimed at ending exploitation while preventing temporary stays becoming permanent, are the first at EU level on seasonal work.

Most seasonal workers labour in the agriculture and tourism sectors, but more often than not have few social rights and can be forced to work long hours at low pay.

The deal will allow them to join a trade union and oblige employers to provide suitable accommodation but not at excessive rents or automatically deducted from wages.

The EU's 28 member states will each decide how long the migrant workers may stay within a five to nine-month period per year.