The Sectoral Union of Workers in the Production, Cultivation, Processing, and Packaging of Food and Beverages of Western Achaia – Andravida – Kyllini has been steadily standing by the side of the hundreds of migrant farm workers who have been driven from their homelands and now reside in the area of Nea Manolada, following its major solidarity initiative.
With the community hub it has established in the village’s central square—now a point of reference, a place of solidarity and organizing struggle—the union is present in the area every day, actively supporting even those affected by the devastating fire that struck their camp last Tuesday. Many migrants were once again waiting yesterday afternoon for the hub in the square to open.
Throughout these past days, the union has distributed hundreds of food portions, drinking water, and clothing, while volunteer doctors from Ilia and Achaia have supported the initiative by offering medical checkups every afternoon at the community office building.
The union’s large-scale effort is backed by the Labor Centers of Patras and Amaliada, as well as the municipal authority of Patras, providing tangible relief to the workers in the strawberry fields—the so-called “red gold”—and other crops. At the same time, there has been a complete absence of intervention from any state institution, including the Government, the Region of Western Greece, the local Municipality, and the employers, none of whom have assumed any responsibility for the situation that has developed.
These conditions, along with the union’s prompt and active presence, have made it widely recognized among the hundreds of migrant workers in the area, who have come from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Egypt, Afghanistan, and even Sudan. This is why many of them are now joining the union, engaging in discussions with union representatives about the problems they face—problems that are common to all workers and revolve above all around exploitation.
These are issues that are also being discussed among the workers themselves, who shake hands as if they’ve known each other for a long time, emphasizing the need for a united struggle.
This afternoon as well, hundreds of migrant farm workers gathered at the union’s community hub, with some coming from India and Pakistan, waiting together to speak with the union representatives. As is the case every day, food, drinking water, and clothing were distributed, while the union continued to demand that the responsible state authorities immediately ensure proper housing in suitable facilities or even hotels for the hundreds of migrant workers, as well as access to drinking water and food for as long as necessary. They also called for the swift issuance of new residence permits and any other documents that were destroyed in the recent fire.
A clear sign of the recognition and appreciation for the union and the other labor organizations was a moment when farm workers, returning from their daily labor, stepped off the trucks that transported them and handed strawberries—the fruit they toil so hard to produce—to the unionists. Others joined the union members in distributing water and food to their fellow workers.
