Farm workers in Scottish agriculture: case studies

Commissioned report for the Scottish Government
Project No. CR2016/25

Authors: Steven Thomson 1 , Rob Mc Morran 1 , Joshua Bird 1 , Jane Atterton 1, Lorna Pate 1 , Elliot Meador 1 , Philomena De Lima 2 , Paul Milbourne 3
1 Scotland’s Rural College ( SRUC)
2 University of the Highlands and Islands
3 University of Cardiff

Errata

An errata was published on 08/06/2018 at pdf pages 49 and 50, section 5.1 Background literature. Text has been updated to read: It should be noted that minimum wage disparities are shrinking across the EU, with some of the fastest increases coming in A8 and A2 countries, especially Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Slovakia and Latvia (Figure 20).

• Grew by 55% in the UK from €902 in 1999 to €1,401 in 2018;
• Grew nearly eight-fold in Bulgaria from €31 in 1999 to €261 in 2018;
• Grew fifteen-fold in Romania from €27 in 1999 to €408 in 2018;
• Grew five-fold in the Czech Republic, from €92 in 1999 to €478 in 2018.

The absolute growth in UK minimum wage rates compared to other EU countries means that the minimum wage gap has actually grown over the period (as shown in Figure 21), despite the considerable minimum wage rate growth in A2 and A8 countries previously discussed. However, since 2016 the UK has become less attractive and minimum wage differentials have fallen (ranging from €157 per month for Bulgarians to €287 per month for Romanians).

Figures 20 and 21 have been replaced.

The pdf and html have both been updated within the document to reflect these changes.