The Government of Spain allocates 5,152,000 euros for 153 municipalities in the community so that their municipalities can hire agricultural seasonal workers

● The game for 2023 of this program has grown by 5%. These municipalities are located in the provinces of Ávila, Salamanca, Valladolid and Zamora ● The Program makes it possible for casual agricultural workers to have employment in the rural environment where they also reside in the months of the year where there is no agricultural work.

April 25, 2023.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla y León, Virginia Barcones, has today highlighted the "importance of defending employment in our villages to combat depopulation. In this case, that of temporary agricultural workers on behalf of others. To this end, the Public Service of State Employment, the SEPE, allocates to Castilla y León this year 5,152,000 euros within the Agricultural Employment Promotion Program, which represents an increase of 5% compared to last year’s departure.”

This program makes it possible for seasonal workers in the countryside to have a job also in the rural environment where the months in which there is no work reside. In this way they can carry out works of general interest, urban improvements

or dotationals in their municipalities and thus complete their income without needing to seek employment elsewhere.

AUTONOMOUS COMMISSION

This morning in Ávila, Barcones chaired the Autonomous Commission for the Follow-up of the Agricultural Employment Promotion Program, accompanied, as guests, by the sub-delegates of the Government in Ávila and Valladolid and by those responsible for the Public Service of State Employment of Salamanca and Zamora. The secretary of this Commission is the territorial coordinator in Castilla y León of this body, of the SEPE, Francisco de Lucas.

This collegiate body, chaired by the Government delegate in Castilla y León, includes the Public Employment Service of Castilla y León (ECYL), the Work Area of the Government Delegation, representatives of provincial deputies and investment municipalities (in this case, the president of the Provincial Council of Ávila and the mayor of the Zamorano municipality of Fuentelapeña), a head of the Federation of Industry of CC OO in CyL, a representative of FIC-UGT in this autonomous community and a representative of the CEOE.

This meeting has served to unanimously ratify the provincial distribution of credit for 2023 with which the four provinces of CyL that are included in the program count: Ávila, Salamanca, Valladolid and Zamora. The credit for the whole of Spain amounts in 2023 to 285 M€. It has increased by 5% (almost 13.6 million) over what was distributed in 2022.

In 2022, thanks to this program and the more than 4.9 M€ allocated by the Government of Spain for CyL, 922 people were hired: 377 in Ávila, 285 in Salamanca, 168 in Valladolid and 92 in Zamora.

COUNTY COUNCILS

This programme, which is regulated by a Royal Decree of 1997, is implemented within the territorial framework of the county councils, in order to create and improve infrastructures that make it possible to establish productive activities that generate employment.

In Castilla y León these Regional Councils of the INE are Arenas de San Pedro (13) and Arévalo (32), in Ávila, in which there are, therefore, 45 municipalities. Peñaranda de Bracamonte, in Salamanca, with 59 locations. Medina del Campo, in Valladolid, with 27 municipalities. And Toro, in Zamora, a regional council of the INE that includes 22 municipalities. In total, 153 in CyL.

The Agricultural Employment Promotion Program is part of the Active Employment Policies directly managed by the SEPE. Its scope of action is the regional councils of the autonomous communities of Andalusia, Extremadura and depressed rural areas, which include: Aragon, Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencian Community and Murcia, in addition to the four mentioned provinces of the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León.

The Government of Spain, through the SEPE, allocates credits from its annual budgets to subsidize the salary and business contribution costs of unemployed workers, preferably agricultural contingents, hired by local corporations.

These contracts must be aimed at the execution of projects of general and social interest, provided that they fall within the competence of local corporations and that they are executed under direct administration or under adjudication.

And as far as Castilla y León is concerned, it corresponds to 5,152,000 euros. Last year it was 4,907,000 euros and in 2021, 4,673,000 €. The distribution by province of these 5,152,000 € is as follows: 1.653.253 € for Ávila, which is the province that receives the most. 1.639.858 € for Salamanca. 1.087.056 € for Valladolid. And 771,758 euros for Zamora.

The distribution of this amount is made taking as a reference the historical indicator by 80% and the labor market indicator by 20%. Every year, the labour market indicator becomes more relevant when it comes to distribution.

The Government delegate has given some examples of the works that are carried out: Cleaning of streets, pruning of trees, replacement of curbs and sidewalks in poor condition, general bacheo of pavements, cleaning and conditioning of municipal buildings, adaptation of irrigation facilities, regeneration of gardens… and a long etc.

This programme supports the maintenance and creation of infrastructure at the local level, while guaranteeing access to employment and income for working people in times outside of agricultural campaigns, resulting in improved conditions for municipalities and their inhabitants.