About fruit picking

Request for seasonal work

Permanent employment

Accommodation

About Dvory nad Žitavou

When do the picking works start?

Fruit picking begins around 25 May with the cherry harvest, then we continue with the sour cherry harvest. At the end of June we move on to the plum harvest. From July to September there is the peach harvest and then, in September, we harvest apples. Apple harvesting ends at the beginning of November.

In addition to picking works

From June to August there is manual peach and apple sorting.

Can you work with a ladder?

Harvesting is carried out in two ways: from the ground and on ladders. This means the seasonal worker must be healthy and also able to carry and pick fruit on the ladder. The ladders are mostly used when picking fruits with pecks (cherries, sour cherries and peaches). We grow apples on the kind of trees that mean picking from the ground is mostly sufficient.

Musts for picking peaches and apples

The fruit is collected in baskets worn across the shoulders on straps. They are then carefully emptied into big volume packing cases. About 22 baskets fit into one big volume packing case, so it takes some time until one packing case is full. This may be quite challenging for a new seasonal worker, but after a couple of days of picking, he/she acquires the necessary skills that will assist him/her to increase his/her performance.

Good picking technique is really important

Before you start working in our Coop, you will be instructed about the right picking techniques and using the ladder, emptying baskets into big volume packing cases and other important things you need to master in order to increase your performance. If you listen to your superiors' advice, you will find yourself far more successful, earning more money and your body will cope better with the physical workload.

How much can a seasonal worker earn?

Some seasonal workers earn good money, others fight hard, earning only a minimal salary. It is really up to each and every seasonal worker what attitude he/she will take to the work. If he/she applies the techniques we recommend, his/her performance will be far better. Harvesting each type of fruit has its norms, approved by our Cooperative. The following norms within this range were approved for 2006. They are influenced by the quantity of fruits on the tree, quality of work performed and by the type of fruit.

Picking based on colour and size.

Salary is paid once a month on the 15 th day of the following calendar month, either via bank account transfer or directly in the Cooperative.