In Spain, the Young Farmers Agrarian Association (ASAJA) and the Workers' Commissions (CCOO) signed, Tuesday, an agreement to protect foreign female farm workers in the Fields. The initiative took place as several Moroccan strawberry pickers stood up against sexual assaults. In Huelva, several Moroccan women stood up against sexual assaults, pushing associations and trade unions to think of a vital solution. On Tuesday, the Workers' Commissions (CCOO), Spain's largest trade union, signed an agreement with the Young Farmers Agrarian Association (La Asociación Agraria Jóvenes Agricultores, ASAJA - Huelva), reports regional online newspaper la Mar de Onuba. A communiqué issued by ASAJA indicates that the newly signed agreement brings Spanish producers and farmers together to protect female seasonal farm workers in Huelva. The decision was made to help women working in agricultural fields who might be subjected to abuse and ill-treatment. The initiative aims, in particular, at creating mechanisms that would eradicate the vulnerability of some of these women. Gender equality is also part of the new agreement, says the same source. Monitoring female farm workers La Mar de Onuba recalls that «protocols related to harassment, which are part of the above-mentioned agreement, were signed on June the 13th by ASAJA and other organizations such as UGT (The Unión General de Trabajadores), CCOO and several NGOs». «This came as some Moroccan farm workers reported sexual abuses in the last few months», clarified the same source. These agreements will provide «gender-equality trainings for those in charge of seasonal workers». Trade unions and farmers had also agreed on recruiting mediators that would closely monitor the situation and working conditions of these women. Moreover, ASAJA stresses that these agreements have been reached after a series of meetings brought employers and trade unions together in Spain. It seems that in Spain the Huelva Gate and the complaints lodged by Moroccan strawberry pickers had pushed Spanish employers to consider prevention measures for the future.
