Around 400 Moroccan seasonal workers head for Spain

A group of around 400 Moroccan seasonal workers left the port of Tangier Ville on Friday, bound for Spain, under the supervision of the Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Sekkouri.

Part of the cooperation between Morocco and Spain, this operation is part of the 2024 campaign for seasonal agricultural workers, which aims to offer seasonal employment opportunities in the agricultural sector to 16,000 Moroccan women from rural areas all over Morocco.

The campaign is part of Morocco’s National Strategy for International Professional Mobility (SNMPI), and an extension of the strengthened cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the field of employment and circular migration, embodied in the bilateral agreement signed in Madrid on July 25, 2001.

The visit provided an opportunity to meet the female beneficiaries, who were accompanied by ANAPEC throughout the selection and information process, with awareness-raising sessions on the specifics of the job, the clauses of the contract and the regulations in force in this respect, as well as on the culture of the destination country.

The beneficiaries were supported by ANAPEC teams from the visa application process through to the actual supervision of their departure procedures, coordinated very closely between ANAPEC and the local authorities in Morocco and the host country.

The visit also provided an opportunity to find out about the expectations and perceptions of candidates for circular migration, particularly with regard to the implications of this scheme, which represents a significant turning point in their socio-professional lives.

The visit was also marked by exchanges between the Minister, the Spanish delegation, local authorities, women beneficiaries, as well as teams from the Agence nationale de promotion de l’emploi et des compétences (ANAPEC) and stakeholders involved in this operation, to work towards improving and optimizing the support processes for seasonal women workers, by meeting their needs, while charting new ways to strengthen collaboration around this project.

In a statement to the press, Sekkouri pointed out that a total of 16,000 women will be going to four Spanish regions to work in the agricultural sector, 10,000 of whom have already made the departure, noting that these women come from several towns in the Kingdom, namely Tangier, Sidi Kacem, Ksar El Kébir and Oujda, among others.

Under the new regulations, these women are entitled to a visa valid for 4 years, in order to simplify administrative procedures and enable them to work in Spain for between 3 and 9 months, he added, pointing out that these women workers benefit, on their return, from the Wafira program, run in collaboration with international partners, so that they can pursue an activity in Morocco, as part of the promotion of their empowerment and socio-economic integration.

The Minister went on to say that these women, who are strongly attached to their country, have been able to develop a solid work culture, stressing that they will have access to the same rights as Spanish workers, in accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two Kingdoms, and in line with royal guidelines aimed at ensuring that Moroccans enjoy the same labor rights as citizens of host countries.

In addition, Sekkouri will be visiting Spain in the coming weeks, in coordination with the Spanish authorities, to investigate the working conditions of Moroccan women in the host country.

Since January 1, 2024, 10,000 women have already left for Spain for the harvest season. Some 6,000 women will join them in successive trips like today’s, which includes almost 400 seasonal workers.

Moroccan seasonal farm workers will have the opportunity to work in Spain in the regions of Huelva, Albacete, Segovia and Cantabria for a period ranging from 3 to 9 months.

With this in mind, ANAPEC is planning measures to accompany and support the women on their return, aiming to ensure their economic integration and empowerment by facilitating the creation of income-generating opportunities under the WAFIRA program.