Working conditions in Valdegovia hydroponic tomato plant: "You can't get the clock to work so you don't control time."
- In the macro-greenhouse that they have just opened in Valdegovía, they denounce the "savage" working conditions and the failure to comply with what was promised in the procurement policy. Alavés Alea spoke to several workers who have worked as hydroponic tomatoes.
With its newly inaugurated giant plant of hydroponic tomatoes in the industrial estate Tuesta de Valdegovía, the company Cultura Araba committed to create 50 jobs among the population of the region, for which it ensured the use of an "innovative" technique inherited from the Netherlands with less water and agrotoxics.
But Alea Araba has discovered a different reality when he has begun to ask the workers in the area, "to check the information face-to-mouth of the last months in the region". Alea has spoken to several workers who have not wanted to register and, in addition to denouncing "savage" working conditions, they also complain about recruitment policy.
Public money for training courses
Since 2022, about 60 young people from the Andean Group have received long-term training courses to be able to access jobs, as they have been told that this training was necessary, and the Provincial Council of Álava has supported these courses with public money, according to the Algerian media.
"Today there are fifteen workers on the floor and most have not attended the course. They have hired the Maghreb," the old workers say.
Hispalus also supported the creation of Araba Crops with the agricultural cooperative Barrenetxe. Crops Álava has received a total of EUR 4.7 million to launch a macro-greenhouse with five football fields and produce 50,000 kilos of tomato a week.
"They scream at us to silence when they hear people, you can't get the clock to work so you don't control time."
Agroecology and bionekazaritza associations and environmental groups have warned that this model is absolutely unsustainable.
"Wild" working conditions
Former workers have also denounced the "savage" working conditions and say they fired the complaining party, according to information published by Alea: "It's not a serious company. They don't care, and all they know how to do is scream. They scream at us to silence when they hear, you can't put the clock in so as not to control time," Alea explains. They say they have established the working conditions of the "Almería style".
According to this media, the first tomatoes were introduced on 13 June, and at the moment half of the greenhouse is underway; the next turn will be in September and the company expects these 50 workers to be hired.
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