Border and Labour
Case Study: Ventimiglia to San Remo
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To further our understanding on the relationship between borders, labour, agriculture and migration; we observe a selected case study: San Remo "The City of Flowers"
Daldi Floricoltura S S A
Historical Context of Trade
The prevalence of trade across the borders of the Alpes Maritimes varied during relative periods, restricted by trade policies. The period of 1892-1949 were periods of low volume and restricted trade between Italy and France although post 1949 (March) the Franco-Italian Customs Union treaty was established to allow for increased trade within the Alpine Maritimes and Country. According to (House,J.W.,1959) there was an expanded trade of commodities such as rice,wine,eggs from Piedmont and produce,flowers and olive oil, and raw materials(timber) from France.
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Within the context of our research , the main commodities traded from Italy into France at the point of Ventimiglia were fruit, timber, grain and oils while from France to Italy: Iron, steal,
coal, slate, bauxite ,cement, oil and Fertilisers - raw material. (House,J.W.,1959)
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An estimated 358,000-420,000+ people are illegally employed within the agriculture sector in Italy according to the Italian Trade Union Confederation, measuring 29% of workers within this sector originating from an foreign country. The lack of formal employment contracts of these migrants results in poor infrastructural and social rights as labourers , exposing this group to exploitative work conditions, inhumane living conditions , under-payment (below minimum living wage, lack of access to basic necessities (electricity,water,transportation) and physical and emotional violence from employers.
Contemporary Context of Trade
Case Study
To further our understanding on the relationship between borders,labour,agriculture and migration we observe selected case studies.
An estimated 358,000-420,000+ people are illegally employed within the agriculture sector in Italy according to the Italian Trade Union Confederation, measuring 29% of workers within this sector originating from an foreign country. The lack of formal employment contracts of these migrants results in poor infrastructural and social rights as labourers , exposing this group to exploitative work conditions, inhumane living conditions , under-payment (below minimum living wage, lack of access to basic necessities (electricity,water,transportation) and physical and emotional violence from employers.
Through a text analysis we build insight on the spatial conditions and experience of migrant labour within agriculture within Franco-Italian border.
“Ahmed Qatib is 33 years old and from Morocco. He has been stuck in Italy for four months. The border with France is impenetrable. With few options available, he has taken to sleeping on the streets in the Italian border town of Ventimiglia and working in agriculture where he is paid a pittance”
“I arrived in Ventimiglia [on the border with France] in February. I had hoped to make it over the border immediately and continue my journey to Germany. However, I tried six times and I still haven’t managed it.
“All the migrants who are stuck like me live under the bridges in Ventimiglia. There are Sudanese, Egyptians, Tunisians, Algerians, Moroccans, Mauritanians, Chadians and Malians.”
The first time I tried to cross the border, it was February. I crossed on foot but I was stopped in Menton [the first French town on the French side of the border]. The second time, I took a train. The third time, I went up on what they call the path of death [these paths, high up in the Alps between Italy and France can be very dangerous. In November 2021, a young African migrant was found dead there.] Then I tried several more times with the
“We are always being moved around. Only undocumented migrants work there. At the moment I am working on land where there is an abandoned house.”
“In the last month, I found some contract-less work [employed illegally with no protection and often very few wages / exploitation] in the fields in the San Remo region. It is not far from Ventimiglia, so I can travel there by train. I work in the fields, the owners are Italian but they change constantly. We are always being moved around. Only undocumented migrants work there.
At the moment I am working on land where there is an abandoned house. The people who are paying us hide us there during the breaks they give us during the day, so that the authorities don’t discover that we are working there or what they are doing. I earn about €30 per day for ten hours of work a day”
Key Phrases
“At the moment I am working on land where there is an abandoned house. The people who are paying us hide us there during the breaks they give us during the day”
“In the last month, I found some contract-less work [employed illegally with no protection and often very few wages / exploitation] in the fields in the San Remo region
