Agricultural LabourInvisible Labour in Agriculture: Local Products With(out) Fair WorkSilvie Frei and Marko Mrcarica

A seasonal workers car parked in front of a storage hall of Beerstecher AG in Dübendorf.

The image of Swiss family farms in people’s heads is still characterized by traditional family farms. Specifically, that are farms where all labour is done by the family. Here, the parents and their children (or even grandchildren) live on the farm and as they age, the farm is given to the next generation. This model is independent of outside labour and therefore of wages and more generally the employer-employee relationship. Even today, especially in a political context, this is how Swiss agriculture is described.
This image is not completely wrong either; as most agricultural labour is still family labour. It just doesn’t recognize non-family labour.

Laufen-Uhwiesen is a small, mostly agrarian commune in the Zürcher Weinland. Situated between soft forested hills and the Rhine, it is home to over a dozen farms. The vine knife on its coat of arms reminds us that vinyards have had a long history here. On its sunny south slopes viniculture can be found to this day. But not just grapes benefit from this geographic location.

Working conditions in agriculture must be improved. Seasonal workers experience financial discrimination in addition to social discrimination. It shoud not be the case that farms put money into investments while putting off the payment of fair wages. Workers and employers should be on an equal footing. We want fair agricultural production, where seasonal labour is valued. After all, agricultural production cannot grow without seasonal labour.