The sectoral Union of Workers in the Production, Cultivation, Standardization and Packaging of Food and Drinks of Western Achaia – Andravida – Kyllini is dynamically continuing its major initiative of support, solidarity and demands for all that migrant farm workers are entitled to.
Every day, and also on Sunday afternoons, the Union is present in the main square of Nea Manolada, at the hub it has set up in the village.
Its overall effort — and its immediate intervention after the devastating fire in the squalid settlement that housed several hundred migrants — has now been embraced by hundreds of persecuted workers from countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sudan, Egypt, Afghanistan, and India. Through discussions, the broader problems they face are being brought to light: from brutal exploitation in the strawberry fields — the so-called “red gold” — and other crops, to the dominance of powerful agribusinesses in cultivation, trade, and packaging.
On the afternoon of Sunday, May 25, hundreds of migrant farm workers gathered again at the Union’s hub, where food, drinking water, and clothing were distributed. Many of them also became members of the union, filling out applications written in their own languages and in English, and shaking hands with their Greek fellow workers.
As the Union maintains its presence in the area, it continues — with the support of the Labor Centers of Patras and Amaliada, as well as trade unionists from other unions — to demand urgent measures from the Government, the Regional Authority, the local Municipality, and employers, who have done absolutely nothing so far.
The Union and the broader trade union movement demand the immediate provision of proper housing for the hundreds of migrant workers, whether in suitable facilities or hotels, as well as access to clean water and food for as long as needed. They also call for the immediate reissuance of residence permits and all other documents that were destroyed in the recent fire.
