Minister announces regularization program for migrants to cope with labor crunch

Migration minister Dimitris Kairidis said on Tuesday that the government is planning a major regularization program for migrants to meet pressing demands in the labor market despite a recent increase in illegal arrivals.

Kairidis told state-run radio ERT that the program would target an estimated 300,000 migrants who are undocumented or whose residence permits have expired to help address acute labor shortages in agriculture, construction and tourism.

Kairidis said the plan, which has similarities to a 2020 reform in Italy, would be on the agenda of a national security meeting later on Tuesday. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and attended by Cabinet members and military leaders, also discussed Greece’s military procurements program, the government said.

“We do not want to create new incentives for further illegal (migrant) flows because that is the danger,” the minister said. “On the other hand, we want to go from black to white … from undeclared to declared labor to boost public revenue with employment taxes and contributions and help address dramatic [labor] shortages in certain sectors.” [AP]