The court determines rejection for 1,200 berry pickers

Published 26 August 2024 at 20.24

Domestic. The Swedish Migration Agency rejected 2,443 applications for work permits for berry picking earlier this year. Just over 1,200 applications were later granted after the court referred the cases back to the Migration Agency.

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– Regarding the other almost 1,200 applications, the court has made the same assessment as us. It has been assessed that the applications should be rejected as the workers risked not getting the conditions they are entitled to, says Hanna Geurtsen, section manager at the Swedish Migration Agency.

Ahead of this year's berry season, a total of 2,545 applications for work permits for berry picking were received. At the beginning of the summer, the Swedish Migration Agency decided to reject a total of 2,443 applications. The reason was that it was judged that the employers would not comply with the required employment conditions, for example with regard to working hours and compensation for inconvenient working hours.

All rejected cases were appealed to the court, and after a second examination, the Migration Agency granted 1,272 applications at the beginning of July. As for the other 1,166 applications, the court rejected the appeals that came in.

– We can state that the courts have followed our line in these cases. For several years, the Swedish Migration Agency has seen strong indications that the regulatory framework for work permits is being abused in the carrier industry and has now acted to counter it, says Hanna Geurtsen.

This year and last year, the Swedish Migration Agency has strengthened the examination of the Thai staffing companies and Swedish clients who employ berry pickers. In both 2023 and 2024, the authority has also carried out so-called follow-up checks. Follow-up inspections mean that the authority subsequently reviews randomly selected cases from each staffing company and client to see if the companies comply with the regulations and the conditions promised. Work on follow-up checks now continues.

– We will do follow-up checks on the group of applications that were granted this year. This is done to ensure that both the client and the Thai staffing company live up to their commitments and that the workers receive the conditions they are entitled to. We will also continue to share information and the situation with the authorities that are part of the cooperation of authorities against workplace crime, says Hanna Geurtsen.

This year's roughly 2,500 applications for work permits for berry picking are significantly fewer than the previous year. The number of clients and employers has also decreased. In 2023, 14 foreign staffing companies applied for work permits for berry picking, while only seven companies came in with applications this year. Only two companies, with assignments for the same Swedish client, have been granted.

– This may be due to the stricter inspections but also to the increased supply requirement for work permits. The income requirement, which also applies to berry pickers, means that you must have a salary that is on a level with a good income. That corresponds to at least 80 percent of the median salary in Sweden, says Hanna Geurtsen.