Thoughts on ...

Strawberry fields, fruit picking and the work ethic

I’ve worked as a fruit picker. Or to be precise a strawberry picker. Quite a long time ago admittedly. It was about this time of year that I cycled over to the strawberry fields in Cheddar and spent what could be a back-breaking day filling punnets with shiny red fruit.  

I don’t recall being paid on piece rates which is just as well as I was nothing like as quick at filling the punnets as the regulars who seemed to glide effortlessly up and down the long, neat rows of strawberries. Bonus payments came in kind when every so often we were unable to resist the temptation to sample the produce.

Fruit picking is hard work. It is physically uncomfortable and repetitive. I’m sure I was happy to come to the end of a day and cycle home again. The pay wasn’t good but it seemed like riches.

Apart from collecting raspberries from the garden I have had no other experience of picking soft fruit but from what I can see on various websites it is still hard work despite the production methods being different. For large enterprises growing strawberries in an elevated position in polytunnels enables picking to be done standing up thus making it a lot easier. Even so, fruit growing businesses looking for workers make no secret of the hard work involved nor of the early start: 5 am on at least three farms and 4.30 on one.¹

Migrant workers make up a large proportion of the workforce and it seems that commercial growers prefer them to UK employees who, anyway, are not exactly queuing up for temporary employment in the industry. There is no reason why Brexit should make any difference to the supply of foreign labour if seasonal visas are issued but it would be good to see more young people from our own country out in the fields. They could start as soon as they finished their exams at school, college or university.

Being employed as fruit pickers would be good for young people as individuals and good for society at large. As individuals they would learn about hard work, perseverance and resilience; about being punctual, following instructions, working in a team, and taking responsibility. They would learn these essential employment skills as well as the discipline, and self-discipline, that work requires. They would begin to develop a work ethic that would last them a lifetime. Not so much strawberry fields for ever, as the song goes, but a positive work ethic for ever.

This learning would contribute more to their education than some of the things they learn in school and it should be seen by society as a vital part of their personal development. They would, of course, be paid for their endeavours which would give them some financial independence and, one hopes, ease pressure on household budgets.

Having more young people from the UK working as fruit pickers would also be good for society. It would reinforce our collective belief that hard work is usually necessary to give us an income to live on and it would also be evidence to show that our citizens can be as capable of hard work as citizens from other countries.

Apart from fruit picking there are other seasonal jobs that young people can do, and part-time jobs they can do all year round. Employment opportunities exist in cafes and restaurants, supermarkets and shops, and hotels and guest houses. Invariably I am impressed by the politeness and quality of service I receive from the younger members of the workforce I encounter.

Paid employment, in my view, should be an integral part of our education system. Having spent my working life trying to decide what was the most important purpose of education I eventually came to the conclusion that it was to prepare people to support themselves and their families. Other purposes are obviously vitally important but if we are unable to support ourselves and our loved ones, life will be a struggle.²

If preparing people for employment is the number one priority then, in addition to doing this through imparting the basic skills of literacy, maths and computing, our education system should be doing everything possible to ensure that from the age of sixteen all young people are able to have paid, part-time work that is regular or seasonal, or both. And if it involves an element of hard, physical work, like fruit picking, then so much the better.

1  This is what one business states: We would like to make it clear that working at *** Farm is very hard work. The work is physical and you will be carrying, bending and lifting for much of the day. You need to be exceedingly fit and healthy with strong backs.   

2  I have written about this in Chapter 7 of Forever Learning. The whole chapter can be read by following this link:

http://www.quercuspublications.co.uk/purposes.html