According to Jiménez, while the drought has affected all of Spain, it has taken a huge toll on the region of Andalusia, which is why all the local government agencies have been called upon to address the dramatic situation facing the Andalusian countryside. ¿It¿s seems as if the drought is going to continue, with projections of a decrease of 30% to 40% in days of labour. For this reason, from UGT, we call for agricultural workers in the sector to have access to subsidies to make up for the missed days of work. If we don't do this, agricultural labourers won't be able to earn wages, because they won't reach the number of required workdays¿, he emphasized.
¿There is an estimated 30% loss in olive production, and in some areas the loss goes up to 50%. We¿re not asking for a reduction in the required number of workdays, which has been done on other occasions, going from 35 to 20, because many labourers aren't even working the minimum number of days,¿ Jiménez pointed out.
¿Another issue that concerns us is the increase in work-related accidents in the sector; fatal accidents have gone up by 88%, major accidents have gone up by 33% and minor accidents have risen by 18%. It¿s something to think about¿, he said.