Saviors of a nation: how the first Romanians brought to pick lettuce in Britain were received

A plane carrying 150 Romanians brought in to pick up fruits and vegetables landed on Thursday April 16 at London’s Stasted Airport in Britain. It is the first such airline since the imposition of pandemic restrictions, and the company that ordered the flight, the giant G’s Fresh from the east of England, paid £ 40,000 for its performance, writes Daily Mail.

80,000 agricultural workers are needed, otherwise the crops will rot in the field. The Romanians will work on a giant farm with 7,000 hectares, the harvest season begins on Monday, April 20.

The press and British authorities hailed Romanian collectors as heroes, with complimentary expressions: “They are ready to save our agriculture and feed the nation.” In the official call for farmers’ aid, in the absence of Eastern Europeans who come to work each season, the British have hired 30,000 volunteers to pick fruits and vegetables, but there is still a long way to go to the required number of 80,000 . . “The Romanians will give us the necessary respite to train the volunteers in what they have to do,” said the Briton.

Equipped with protective masks and gloves, the Romanians were received by the authorities and representatives of the manufacturing company, who, after the necessary customs control, boarded them on buses to their destination.

“The workers warmed up when they boarded the plane. They weren’t medically checked on arrival, but they’ll also be checked on the farm. They didn’t sit next to each other on the plane. In our color-coded homes, they will stay separately, in groups. We have food reserves so that they do not have to leave the farm and come into contact with other people outside our community. We cannot afford to get sick, they will have everything they need here, “said the PR of the company.

The transport brought workers from Iasi. They will pick lettuce. A co-worker is paid £ 8.72 (€ 10.03) per hour, and the hard worker can earn £ 15 (€ 17.25) per hour. Accommodation and food will be paid at £ 50 per week.

The Air Charter Service company that made this first transport to England is the one that also took Romanian workers to Germany, to collect asparagus. “We have already done 10 races in Romania and 1 in Bulgaria in Germany.” And we’ll do some more, “said the spokesperson for the Air Charter Service.

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