Luxembourg has a shortage of seasonal workers

Summer has just begun, but the government has decided to act early. On Thursday, representatives from the horticulture and viticulture sector met with the ministers of agriculture, labor and social security at Senningen Castle to discuss simplifying administrative rules to attract seasonal workers.

"We have created a single status and provided more information because there is a lot of work and not enough time," said Agriculture and Viticulture Minister Martine Hansen. With many family farms lacking resources and time, these changes are important.

Due to the lack of people willing to work at the harvest, retired people, seasonal workers from Poland and Romania, and cross-border workers are often recruited. Winegrowers would like to see more interest from applicants to ADEM, but this is not always possible.

Illegal pickers also remain a problem. The Minister of Labor, Georges Mischo, reminded that a work permit and a residence permit are required to work, otherwise the pickers are in an illegal situation. To prevent such situations, a job fair for seasonal workers will be held on July 18 at the Viti-Vinicole Institute in Remich, which is also open to refugees and asylum seekers.