The mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, assured yesterday that he has proven, through an entity that serves immigrants, that a City Council “in the south” of Spain pays the ticket to Lleida for sub-Saharan people who intend to work in the collection of fruit. For three weeks now, seasonal workers have started arriving in the city and most of them sleep outside.
“The phrase ‘we will pay for your tickets, go to Lleida and they will give you work there’ is regrettable; “I have proven who paid the ticket and who the beneficiaries are,” Larrosa stated. The mayor has not wanted to specify which municipality it is nor has he contacted the City Council in question, but yesterday he stated in the neighborhood of La Mariola, where seasonal workers sleep, that “he could have called and told the mayor to leave.” “It has passed four towns.”
Larrosa insisted that the fruit campaign device that the City Council will open on June 3 is for people who do not have a work permit. “No one who has an employment contract will enter the device. Last year we detected that there were people who were using public resources while they were charging and could pay for their accommodation.” For those who work, the City Council has activated floors of the Municipal Company of the Urban Agenda of Lleida. Larrosa recalled that the City Council promoted urban planning measures to provide accommodation on the Horta farms and that there is an aid line from the Generalitat.
