We address all of you whom we met in the recent period following the fire that broke out in a camp of migrant agricultural workers in Nea Manolada. From the very first moment, our Union, together with the Labor Centers of Patras and Amaliada, placed living and hygiene conditions, as well as working conditions, at the center of our struggle.
We demanded from the state, the government, and the competent ministries that all our just demands be met. First and foremost, that residence and work permits be granted to all migrant agricultural workers; that suitable accommodation be secured, with the obligation of employers, ensuring dignified living conditions; and decent wages that cover our needs. This is necessary in order to push aside labor traffickers and employer representatives who, in many cases, even steal our daily wages.
Throughout this period, we demonstrated in practice our deep internationalist solidarity, so that Greek and migrant workers enjoy the same rights. We organized the distribution of food and clothing to colleagues in need. In addition, volunteer doctors assisted with the medical examination of migrant colleagues. The Greek government, as well as the governments of the countries from which migrants originate, show complete indifference toward workers, as they implement policies aimed at filling the pockets of industrialists and large employers.
In the effort of business groups to compete with one another, it is always the workers who pay the price. This happens both in times of peace and in times of war, as we see with the dozens of war fronts across the planet. Even war preparations on the ground of imperialist rivalries between the USA, the EU, China, and Russia over who will dominate mean an intensification of our labor and repression. The recent shipwreck in Chios with 15 dead proves that the Government and the EU, on the one hand, intensify repressive policies against refugees and migrants, and on the other hand, take out their calculators and calculate the labor force they lack, seeking it abroad.
On the one hand, they escalate interventions and wars for the redivision of the world, and on the other, they erect walls against those whom they themselves drive into refuge.
We call on workers and the people of every country not to become cannon fodder for the imperialists, nor to die in their fields in the battle for a daily wage in order to send money to our families—because it is precisely these rivalries that have uprooted us from our homelands.
We continue and strengthen our struggle, Greek and migrant workers together, because our strength lies in our organization within the unions, in unity and common struggle against our exploiters and their governments.
We fight – We demand:
• Immediate securing of accommodation for the hundreds of migrant workers in suitable shelters and buildings with dignified living conditions.
• Immediate issuance of residence and work documents.
• The establishment of equal rights for Greek and migrant workers regarding wages, insurance, benefits, and health and safety measures. The establishment of a satisfactory wage for all Greek and migrant workers employed in the cultivation, standardization, and packaging of agricultural products, based on the demands of the Federation of Milk–Food–Beverages. Five-day workweek – 8 hours a day – 40 hours a week.
• Guaranteed free access for all migrant workers to preventive examinations and medical check-ups by all means. Strengthening of the region’s health structures with doctors and nurses to meet the needs of all residents, Greeks and migrants alike.
