St. Arachovitis: «The New Democracy government, with its dogmatic approach, is also depriving agricultural production of its workforce.»

While the downward spiral of agricultural production continues, with the government showing no serious intention of halting it through bold decisions regarding production costs, yet another problem has grown exponentially during the New Democracy administration, and the party bears sole responsibility for it. Finding farmworkers is becoming more difficult by the day in rural areas, with farmers and their representative organizations across the country highlighting this issue as now critical to the continuation of agricultural production.

Thanks, then, to the recent legislative measure, with the  Pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 72 of Law 4825/2021, in a few days (July 1, 2022), Article 13a of Law 4251/2014, which the SYRIZA government enacted and which allowed the employment of third-country nationals residing in Greece irregularly in the agricultural sector, will be repealed.

All efforts to ensure the labor and social security rights of third-country nationals residing in Greece without proper documentation, to ensure fair tax treatment for farmers,  to combat undeclared work in the agricultural economy, and, finally, to increase contributions to the social security system—all of these efforts are being thrown out the window by this provision of the New Democracy bill.

In practice, then, as of July 1, all workers residing in the country illegally will not be able to find employment; they will not be able to work legally, but will be forced to work illegally, in undeclared work, trapped in the informal economy and subjected to exploitative working conditions. Employers, for their part, will face administrative sanctions and very severe criminal penalties if they employ such workers.

Greek producers are now facing two major challenges. Not only do they pay the highest prices in Europe for energy and other supplies, but they also cannot find even a handful of workers to tend their crops and herds. The inability to cultivate and harvest agricultural produce, the inevitable decline in domestic agricultural production, the blow to our export trade, the hardship faced by our people, and the exploitation of farmworkers all bear the hallmarks of the New Democracy government.

The Member of Parliament for Laconia and Head of the Rural Development Sector of SYRIZA-PS St. Arachovitis, submitted a parliamentary question today—signed by 44 other members of the party—regarding this major issue for the agricultural economy, which was caused by no international circumstances, or any external factor—but rather the ideologically driven government of Mr. Mitsotakis.

Below is the full text of the Question:

Athens, June 23, 2022

QUESTION

       To the Minister of Migration and Asylum

SUBJECT: «Repeal of Article 13A of Law No. 4251/2014 (Government Gazette A’ 80/2014) concerning the employment of third-country nationals residing in Greece irregularly in the agricultural sector»

Article 58 of Law 4384/2016 (Government Gazette A 78/April 26, 2016) added Article 13A to Law 4251/2014, allowing employers to hire third-country nationals residing in Greece irregularly to meet urgent needs of the agricultural economy, exclusively to fill positions that have not been filled through the recruitment process. The introduction of Article 13A was intended to safeguard the labor and social security rights of third-country nationals residing irregularly, to ensure fair tax treatment for farmers, to combat undeclared work in the agricultural economy, and, finally, to increase contributions to the social security system, objectives that have largely been achieved, as the dogmatic view that undeclared work in the rural economy is largely taken for granted and even considered inevitable has been reversed in recent years following the implementation of the relevant legislation.

However, instead of making improvements to the existing legislative framework, for the benefit of both employers/producers and employees under that framework, pursuant to paragraph 4 of Article 72 of Law 4825/2021 Article 13a of Law 4251/2014, concerning the employment of third-country nationals residing in Greece without proper documentation in the agricultural sector, is repealed as of July 1, 2022.

In practical terms, as of July 1, all workers residing in the country illegally will no longer be able to be employed, as they will not be able to work legally, while employers will face administrative sanctions and very serious criminal liability if they employ them. Already, in the wake of the pandemic—as evidenced by the appeals from dozens of agricultural organizations—the problem of a shortage of workers has intensified.

Because The ban on utilizing the productive capacity of those residing in Greece without proper documentation—especially in light of the current geopolitical situation and food insecurity— will inevitably lead to the ultimate ruin of farmers and ranchers, who will be unable to meet the demands of their productive activities,

Because The ban on the exploitation of the productive capacity residing illegally in Greece—brought about by the repeal of Article 13A of Law 4251/2014 (Government Gazette A’ 80/2014) of the productive capacity residing illegally in Greece will inevitably result in a decline in domestic agricultural production, while indirectly dealing a severe blow to our export trade, due to a decrease in exported agricultural products resulting from the inability to cultivate and harvest crops,

Because, The repeal of Article 13A of Law 4251/2014 (Government Gazette A’ 80/2014) will place workers in an illegal status, trapping them in the informal economy and subjecting them to exploitative working conditions, while depriving the social security system of valuable resources

The Minister is asked:

1. For what reasons is Article 13A of Law 4251/2014 (Government Gazette A 80/2014) being repealed?;
2. What solutions do you intend to consider to fill the labor gaps that are emerging in the agricultural economy and to address the direct and indirect consequences of the shortage of necessary labor?;
3. By how much have the number of pending applications for the issuance or renewal of residence permits increased compared to April 2021?;
4. By how much do you estimate the available labor force in the primary sector will decrease after the 1st^η July 2022, at which time Article 13A of Law 4251/2014 will be repealed? ;

The Questioning Members of Parliament

Arachovitis Stavros

Avramakis Eleftherios

Anagnostopoulou Athanasia (Sia)

Avgeri Theodora

Aulonitis Alexandros-Christos

Vagena Anna

Vardakis Socrates

Varemenos Georgios

Vetta Kalliopi

Gara Anastasia

Gkiolas Ioannis

Dritsas Theodoros

Zabeck Hussein

Thrapsaniotis Emmanouil

Kalamatianos Dionysios

Katsis Marios

Kokalis Vasileios

Kafantari Chara

Lappas Spyridon

Malama Sunday

Mamoulakis Haris

Constantine Markou

Meikopoulos Alexandros

Michaelides Andreas

Barkas Konstantinos

Bournous Ioannis

Moraitis Athanasios (Thanos)

Papadopoulos Athanasios (Sakis)

Papailiou Georgios

Papanatsiou Aikaterini

Poulou Panagiou (Giota)

Panagiotis Skourletis

Skouroliakos Panagiotis (Panos)

Betty Scoofa

Syrmalenios Nikolaos

Olympia Teligioridou

Tzoufi Meropi

Triantafyllidis Alexandros

Famellos Socrates

Filis Nikolaos

Fotiou Theano

Dimitrios Charitou

Alexandros Haritsis

Christidou Rallia

Psychogios Georgios