Retirement, for many farm workers, does not mean stopping working. Diego Cañamero explains it from his own experience, with a pension that he considers insufficient after a lifetime of contributing. About to turn 69, he assures that the situation is not only difficult, but unfair for those who have supported the agricultural sector for decades.
“It’s shameful,” he says, while acknowledging that “I shouldn’t need to supplement my pension.” However, the reality is different: “My pension is 798 euros, exactly what I earn”, an amount that forces him to continue looking for income in the countryside, as he claims in a video on the YouTube channel ‘La Voz del Sur’. This is one more case of reduced pensions that joins the many cases reported by ASJUBI in which retirees who have contributed for many years have large reductions in their pension.
To get ahead, Cañamero resorts to a traditional practice: rebusco. That is, collecting crop remains once the main harvest is finished. “I also do it to help the pension,” he explains, detailing that he works collecting olives, chickpeas or potatoes depending on the season. A task that requires physical effort and speed, because “you have to go very light because if not, it won’t work.”
In a working day, the income is not high either. According to him, “one morning picking olives you can get 50 or 60 euros,” as long as you dedicate several hours and the pace is constant. Even so, this supplement is necessary to make ends meet.
Claiming farm work
Beyond his personal case, Cañamero focuses on what he considers a structural problem of the pension system. He denounces that field workers bear greater burdens without this translating into better benefits. “We farm workers are the ones who pay the most,” he points out.
“If you contribute 11.5%, why do I have a pension that is 30 or 40% cheaper than the rest?” says Cañamero.
From their point of view, this situation reflects an inequality that should be corrected. “Pensions cannot knock on your door in the form of hunger,” he warns, directly describing it as “inhuman” and “unfair” for those who have contributed for 40 or 50 years.
The former deputy also takes the opportunity to vindicate the historical role of the field and those who have worked there. Remember that behind each harvest there are entire generations of effort, even in harsh conditions. “Our parents, our pregnant grandmothers working in the fields… we have raised the fields,” he explains, insisting that “it is necessary to dignify it.”
Criticism of politics
Finally, he criticizes institutional politics, pointing out that the environment of power can distance representatives from social reality. “Congress is designed to make you forget where you come from,” he says, describing a system in which “everything is prepared so that you don’t think about the people you have to represent.”
His testimony brings to the table a reality that affects thousands of pensioners in Spain: the need to continue working after a lifetime of work in order to maintain a decent standard of living.