• The unemployment benefit
• How can the SOC help me?
• Guidance on finding a job
• Job offers search engine
• Occupational information for newly arrived workers
• Training services
• Training courses search engine
• Frequently asked questions
• Online procedures
• Aids and grants
• Processing first work permits
• Working in the seasonal agricultural campaigns 2009

Working in the seasonal agricultural campaigns 2009

May sees the start of the seasonal agricultural campaign in the Catalan countryside. The beginning of the campaign involves the hiring of a large number of people to undertake the tasks of picking, storing and packing the fruit.

As in previous years, the SOC manages the majority of job offers in the campaigns and undertakes the role of occupational intermediary. To take part in the intermediation processes the person must be registered as a jobseeker in the Work Offices.

In order to facilitate the processes of informing and hiring, the SOC makes three mobile offices available to the workers that travel around the Catalan countryside, following a previously arranged route.

If you wish to take part in the agricultural campaigns as a temporary worker, you should go to the nearest Work Office or to one of the mobile offices and state your availability for the campaigns that are of interest to you (it can be one or more).

Agricultural campaigns 2009

The campaigns being undertaken in Catalonia during this season are:

• Lleida: Sweet fruit, from May to mid-October
• Terres de l'Ebre: Sweet fruit from June to August and grape harvest, from August to mid-October
• Girona: Campaign to pick the pear, apple and grape harvests, in August and September approximately
• Barcelona: Grape harvest, from mid-August to mid-October
• Tarragona: Grape harvest, from September to October
• Terres de l'Ebre: Citric fruit campaign, from November to February

What should you do to take part in the agricultural campaigns for the 2009 season?

You should register as a jobseeker in the Work Offices, stating your interest in this campaign through:

• Your local Work Officeaccording to your address
• " The mobile offices of the SOC, which travel around the towns that need to hire temporary workers. Click here to find out about the routes of the three mobile offices.

Requisites

• If you have Spanish or Community nationality or your nationality falls within the Community system, and you must have you ID documentation up to date
• If you have non-Community nationality, you must have an up-to-date permit to live in Spain
• També us podeu inscriure si disposeu d'una autorització en vigor per residir a Espanya

Your rights

• To have your work contract in writing
• The company must process the corresponding Social Security payment
• You should receive the salary agreed between you and the company, guaranteeing as a minimum that marked by the collective agreement in the sector
• Access to decent accommodation if your usual place of residence is more than 75 km from where you are working

Collaborating agents

To find out about the agricultural campaign or to register, you can also approach some of the following organisations who are collaborating with the SOC in the seasonal campaign:

• Unió de Pagesos de Catalunya
• Joves Agricultors i Ramaders de Catalunya (JARC)
• Associació Agrària de joves Agricultors (ASAJA)
• Associació d'empresaris agraris de Lleida
• Comissions Obreres de Catalunya (CCOO)
• Unió General de Treballadors de Catalunya (UGT)

The campaign also has the support of the Office for Immigration of the Department of Social Action and Citizenship and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action of the Generalitat de Catalunya.