Current Question of the Member of Parliament Neoklis Kritikos on the recall of seasonal land workers

On Monday, November 6, 2023, Laconia Member of Parliament Neoklis D. Kritikos raised the
Parliament on the issue of the recall of seasonal land workers, with a Topical Question to the
Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Professor Dimitris Kairides.

Addressing the Minister, MP Neoklis Kritikos rang the bells
of the danger, stressing that the shortages of land workers both in Laconia and throughout it
Greece, are important.

Farmers and producers are very worried because they cannot cover
labor needs in production and harvesting.

The immediate solution to the problem is
necessary to avert the risk of either not cultivating large areas, or not at all
a significant amount of agricultural production is harvested. Mr. Kritikos closed the first
placing it by directly asking the following questions to the Minister:

What is the
schedule of actions planned by the Government? When and with whom?
conditions will enable the seamless, immediate and efficient processing of
requests to transfer seasonal land workers?

Taking the floor, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum thanked Mr.
Cretan for his question, and made special reference to the fact that for this particular one
issue has been preceded by a series of contacts and communications between them.

Mr. Kairides acknowledged that
the issue is very serious, since this problem reflects on agricultural production, in
GDP, and overall in the economic well-being of the country.

The Minister also referred to
fragmentation of the system, since the responsibilities belong to many involved, and
specifically in the decentralized administrations, consulates, EFKA services, but also
other services.

In fact, he specifically referred to a dysfunctional system,
understaffed, fragmented, and often uncoordinated.

In his deputation, MP Neoklis Kritikos seized the opportunity to
underline again that the labor shortage in the primary sector is huge,
and for this reason it is the dominant problem that concerns the agricultural sector as well
in Laconia, but also throughout Greece.

Repeatedly a number of agricultural agencies have
sends requests to arrange the parameters related to the processes

NEOCLIS CRETIKOS
Member of Parliament of Laconia – NEW REPUBLIC

4 Voulis (office 506), 105 62 Athens – tel./fax: 210 324 1567
109 Gortsologu, 231 00 Sparta – tel.: 27310 22719, tel./fax: 27310 76207
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finding labor from any source is possible to make this happen.

Him
lately, in fact, the agricultural associations from all over the territory have joined their voices,
so that their reasonable and fair request can be satisfied.

Farmers across the
Greek territory have fallen into a quagmire, a real impasse. For this reason
the pathologies of both the current legislation and its
administrative practice applied by the services.

Yes, these solutions must
come immediately or at least as soon as possible, within a certain time frame, so that
inform the farmers and initiate the appropriate procedures in turn.

Indicatively, Mr. Kritikos referred to some of the problems that
presented: The applications submitted to the Greek embassies several times
are rejected unnecessarily.

The procedures in the local residence permit departments are excellent
time-consuming, but also other procedures before the competent services are labyrinthine and
they create significant obstacles for people, which is ultimately what they want
to work, produce and ultimately strengthen the national agricultural economy.

Mr. Kritikos closed his placement expressing his anxiety about the immediate and
positive response, both from the Minister himself, and from the Government as a whole, so that
solutions are found. In fact, the last words of his speech were the following:

“So, I sincerely ask you, both you personally and the Government as a whole to
be the response we all expect in whatever way you deem best, but to
each case immediately and effectively because the effects of the specific problem
in the Greek agricultural economy they are already visible and unfortunately they are constantly intensifying.”

In his own rejoinder, the Minister for Immigration and Asylum thanked it
Member of Parliament Neoklis Kritikos for the fact that he puts the problem in its proper dimension.

Mr.
The Minister emphasized that the problem must be addressed, with the staffing of the DAM, the
consulates, but also other services. Finally, Mr. Kairides underlined that the Government
is absolutely against illegal immigration, but at the same time needs, as one
condition of economic prosperity and social stability, the so-called legal
immigration, with conditions and rules according to its needs, priorities, choices
of Greek society, so that the agricultural sector can also breathe from it
condition.

In fact, at the end of his speech, the Minister announced that until
Christmas will be undertaken a series of new initiatives in this area, in order not to
one faces again all these problems that arose in 2023.