MIGRATORY WORKER

A worker who moves from place to place in his or her own country in response to the demand for seasonal labour.

"The hours of employment during a harvest are long, to enable the harvesting to be completed as quickly as possible, or are unusual, for example daybreak until midday (to minimise bruising and damage to the crop), or can continue seven days a week until the crop is harvested. Depending upon the nature of the harvest, the employees may be a mix of both local as well as itinerant seasonal workers. Itinerant seasonal workers and their families are generally either based on the property if facilities are available or in residence at a local caravan park throughout the season."
(Australian Government, Childcare report, visited 2006-09-16)

"Migratory workers travel from community to community in search of temporary and seasonal work. Given the nature of their employment, migratory workers and their families often settle in a given community for a short period of time."
(U.S. Department of Education, Education of Migratory Children, 2002, visited 2009-08-12)

Seasonal migration is very common in relation to agricultural cycles. While the culture of many crops has become mechanized, others, such as fruits and vegetables and tobacco still require manual labor. Today, migratory workers provide much of the hand labor required in agriculture in many developed countries.