Considering the low pay and heavy physical labour regardless of weather conditions one would not expect a lot of interest for seasonal farm jobs from the Slovenian workers, but in the last years it is just the opposite, mostly because of the devastating conditions at the labour market. Most of the employers confirmed that it is easy to find local workers, while some of them still use labour force from abroad.

At the Employment Service of the Republic of Slovenia an increase in seasonal employments by the native workers has been noticed for years now, partly due to the presentations of the seasonal labour, and also to the lack of other suitable jobs. The interest in such jobs is growing every year, and consequently the number of issued work permits for foreign farm workers has been decreasing.

In the Prekmurje region the local workers satisfy all the needs of seasonal work, while in the Lower Carniola and the Styria region the employers are still more inclined towards employing foreign workers from the third countries, for whom they also provide lodging, the Employment Service explained to MMC.

Manual skills and motivation count
As a rule the physical work is demanding, and the workers are exposed to all kinds of weather conditions. According to the Employment service, a number of workers soon realize that they are not up to that kind of labour, while a number of workers keep returning every year to employers who provide correct working conditions and adequate pay.

Gorazd Kosmač; translated by G. K.