Overhaul for foreign workers
Changes are being planned to render the use of imported labor better and more efficient
The government is planning important changes to the institutional framework for foreigners invited for cover specific labor shortages in Greece, from the way that the real needs for labor in each region is recorded to the issuance of a residence permit for foreign laborers.
The aim is to establish a framework for fast, easy and targeted transfers of workers from third countries to Greece, as despite the ever-growing needs that cannot be met by Greece’s unemployed, the transfers made so far fall short not only of real needs, but also of the positions approved every two years by the Labor Ministry.
It is estimated that only one in five approved positions is filled by imported labor. After all, it usually takes 12 to 18 months for migrant workers to come to Greece. In fact, for all of the above, there are no officially data in a database, which could be the central source of information in order to design immigration policy in this field.
In this context, the Ministry of Migration Policy in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor, is expected to proceed with legislation, which, among other things, will reshape part of the responsibilities currently held by the services of the Ministry of the Interior and the Decentralized Administrations, with the possible transfer of some responsibilities to the services of the Migration Ministry. In any case, serious understaffing has been noted in the Decentralized Administrations, in which there is not even a special department for foreign workers. Similar problems exist in the Greek consular authorities, mainly in the sections that issue visas, which complicates the already problematic process.
There are serious residence problems too, both in terms of issuing the required visa and in the actual stay in the country, as there is a serious shortage of housing for migrant laborers, meaning that they often choose to work in other European countries instead. As a result, changes are being considered in the procedure for issuing a residence permit, mainly in the case of seasonal workers.
