Non-family Labour in the Swiss Agriculture: A Status Report and Future Prospects

Huey Shy Chau, Awanish Kumar and Silva Lieberherr
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Huey Shy Chau: University of Zurich, Switzerland
Awanish Kumar: Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
Silva Lieberherr: University of Zurich, Switzerland

Journal of Socio-Economics in Agriculture (Until 2015: Yearbook of Socioeconomics in Agriculture), 2015, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Although agricultural labour productivity has been increasing due to technical progress, agricultural holdings continue to be under price pressure. We argue that we need to critically engage with Swiss production conditions from the workers› perspectives. This paper focuses on the working conditions of non-family farm workers and their future prospects. In relating the changing production conditions to the idea of domestic fair trade, we investigate existing initiatives› potential to create better working conditions. We draw on interviews with migrant workers, farmers, and different representatives of agricultural labour in Switzerland. The results show that nonfamily labour is physically strenuous work with flexible working hours, low wage payment, and little recognition. While introducing a domestic fair trade label is a step in the right direction, it still only improves the working conditions for a fraction of all non-family workers. Therefore, it cannot be a substitute for stronger unions and government regulations.

Keywords: Non-family labour; Domestic fair trade; Agriculture; Switzerland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J3 J5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cha:ysa001:v:8:y:2015:i:1:p:1-10

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