The demand for annual workers in Greece and its influence on the entrance of Albanian workers

Transcription

1 The demand for annual workers in Greece and its influence on the entrance of Albanian workers Simeon Karafolas The World Bank International Conference, Poverty and Social Inclusion in the Western Balkans, Brussels, December

2 Abstract The paper investigates the annual inflow of legal immigrants in Greece the last five years, , through the demand of the Greek state for immigrants for annual work in provenance from non EU countries. This process is determined first by the Law 3386/2005 on the entrance, accommodation and social integration of third country nationals in the Greek territory. Every year Greek authorities determine the maximum number of residence and work permits that will be given to non E.U. immigrants. Permits concern mainly seasonal jobs, more than 80%, and basically Albanian workers. Local needs determine the number of immigrants on the local level, expressed through prefectures, (Greece is divided administratively in 54 prefectures). The total of local needs makes the national demand, and therefore the annual inflow, for legal economic immigrants from non EU countries. The paper analyses the evolution of this demand and tries to explain the factors that influence this evolution; are they mainly structural or they are related to economic activity? The paper analyses the demand for legal immigrant workers by prefecture and category of work; that permits a more qualitative approach of the evolution since we can have a more specific result. It appears that some prefectures, especially at the region of Central Macedonia, concentrate the main part of the annual demand for seasonal workers from third countries, basically Albanian workers. This demand is oriented to agricultural work. 2

3 1. Introduction (1/3) Since the decade of 1990 s, Greece has been transformed to a host country of immigrant population. Main part of this population was the consequence of illegal inflow of immigrants that was almost uncontrolled. Greek governments tried to manage this migration phenomenon and adjust the entry, residence and social integration of immigrants by voting several legislative measures. The first was the Law 1975/1991, followed by the Law 2910/2001; those laws aimed to protect country s frontier and control immigration illegal inflow. The legislative efforts became more systematic and detailed in the decade of 2000 s. The first step was the vote of the Law 3386/2005, completed by the Law 3536/2007; the target was the registration of the immigrants and refugees, the fast issuing of residence permits, the organization and link between administrative bodies related to immigration. 3

4 1. Introduction(2/3) The Law 3386/2005 is the regulatory framework of the actual Greek policy on the procedure for the invitation of third-country nationals for work. This procedure permits the entry and residence of third-country immigrants to work for a specific employer, for a determined time period and for a specific kind of occupation. Immigrants work is divided into dependant and seasonal work. Seasonal occupation concerns more than 80% of invited workers. The main group of seasonal immigrant workers is the Albanian workers. Thus, the examination of the seasonal workers refers to Albanian immigrants. Greece is the principal host country of Albanian immigrants. More than Albanian immigrants were legally registered to the population census of 2001 while in the second most important host country, Italy, only were registered and only some tens of thousands to all other countries. As a consequence, Greece is the main sending country for Albanian immigrant remittances. 4

5 1. Introduction(3/3) The paper focuses on the entrance of immigrants, on the basis of the demand for immigrants from the employers in Greece for the time period that is characterized by the new legislative framework of the Law 3386/2005. The paper analyses the evolution of the demand and tries to examine the factors that influence this evolution. Are these factors institutional or circumstantial? An explanation can be searched on the structure of demand by prefecture and category of demanded job. Therefore the paper analyses the demand for dependant and seasonal work by prefecture and kind of job. This examination permits to have a more qualitative approach of this movement. It appears that some prefectures, mainly in the region of Central Macedonia, concentrate the main part of the demand and that for workers of agricultural jobs. 5

6 2. Process of the demand for annual workers of third country (1/4) Definitions: A third-country national is the individual who has not the Greek citizenship or this of any other European Union country according to the definition of the article 17, paragraph 1 of the European Community Treaty Dependant worker: the duration of residence permit is valid for one year with a possibility of renewal for two more years; it can be transformed to indefinite duration if the requested conditions are accomplished. He can also work to other prefectures of the same or other region one year after the accordance of the first residence permit Seasonal work: employment for a maximum time period of six months, per calendar year. The seasonal worker is employed by a specific employer on a fixed-term employment relationship. 6

7 2. Process of the demand for annual workers of third country (2/4) Those demands concern Albania, Bulgaria (till end of 2008) and Egypt. They are under the bilateral agreements for dependant and seasonal work between Greece and the three countries. Since 1 st of January 2009 Bulgarian nationals have no more been submitted to any bilateral agreement with Greece and they are free to work. Demand for Egyptian workers is limited to fishery jobs. Main demand concerns Albanian workers. By the end of previous September employers indicate to the municipality or community the number of workers, their nationality, the kind and period of job offered. Municipality or community send the demand to the Immigration Service of the region to be examined. Local demands are considered on a central level. An interministerial decision gives the total number of the demand for third countries immigrants. 7

8 2. Process of the demand for annual workers of third country (3/4) The procedure for the dependant employment Each employer submits a banking letter of guarantee equal to the income of an unskilled worker for three months; that covers the cost of living of an immigrant in Greece for three months. The employer declares that he will hire the employees and will cover the necessary expenses. He indicates the wage and the kind of occupation. The salary cannot be inferior to this of the unskilled worker. The procedure for the seasonal employment The letter of guarantee corresponds only to the monthly salary of the unskilled worker. Declaration of the employer that he will hire the employees, he will cover the necessary expenses and offer the accommodation The salary cannot be inferior to the unskilled worker.. 8

9 3. Process of the demand for annual workers of third country (4/4) The procedure from the part of the immigrant The immigrant must have a visa for 90 days, (since his entry in Greece). He has to pay a deposit of 150 euros to the municipality and present the contract signed by his employer, the medical examinations and the social security registration 9

10 4. Methodology and sources (1/2) The examination is based on the determination of maximum number of residence permits for work to third-country immigrants. It is examined by prefecture (Greece is divided t 54 prefectures). Three nationalities are concerned: Albanian, mainly, Bulgarian since 2008 and Egyptian. Since agriculture is the main demander sector a comparison between agriculture production and cultivated land and the demand considered. This comparison is offered for three prefecture that concentrate 70% of the demand (Imathia, Pella and Pieria). 10

11 4. Methodology and sources (2/2) The time period chosen for the investigation is from 2006 to This is the period of the application of the legislative framework for the entry and residence of third-country nationals offered by the Law 3386/2005. Sources for the demand are the Official Journal of Government, the Ministry of Agriculture for the agricultural production and the author s interviews with the Immigration services in several prefectures. 11

12 4. Results: The demand for non EU immigrants (1/6) Total employers demand passed from workers on 2006 to on 2010, table 1. The evolution of this demand is characterized by two important decreases, on 2007 and The first one is influenced by the application of the Law 3386/2005 that imposed for the first time some criteria for the demand of third-country nationals. The second is influenced by the end of the registration of Bulgarian immigrants as third-country nationals. Employers demand for third country immigrants concerns dependant and mainly seasonal workers, table 1. 12

13 4. Results: The demand for non EU immigrants (2/6) This demand is noticed to all Greek prefectures but a very strong concentration exists to some of them in the North of Greece; prefectures of Imathia, Pella and Pieria concentrate between half and 70% of the demand the examined period, table 2 and 3 Their part grew up considerably the years 2009 and 2010, (since Bulgarian immigrants are no more registered as third-country immigrants). Before 2009 a demand approaching to 20% some years was noticed to prefectures in the North of Greece neighboring to Bulgaria. Since 2009, the demand concerns almost only Albanian immigrants. Demand for Egyptians reached only to workers in

14 Table 1. The employers demand from third country nationals Occupation Seasonal Dependant Total

15 Table 2. Employers demand from third-country immigrants in three main applicant prefectures Prefecture Imathia Pella Pieria Subtotal Part in total 56,1% 49,1% 57,5% 68,5% 70,0% 15

16 Table 3. Demand for Seasonal and Dependant work from third-country nationals, per prefecture; cumulative contribution, (%) Prefecture Imathia 16,2 18,2 20,4 32,2 30,5 Pella 38,5 35,5 43,7 52,9 54,9 Pieria 56,1 49,1 57,5 68,5 70,0 Kastoria 56,7 50,1 59,8 70,9 72,5 Kozani 60,2 52,7 62,4 72,2 74,9 Larisa 63,0 55,6 65,5 73,7 77,0 Kavala 66,7 62,9 69,3 76,1 79,5 Florina 67,2 63,7 70,2 76,8 80,5 Grevena 68,8 65,0 71,6 78,1 81,7 Kilkis 69,9 66,1 72,0 78,8 82,6 Serres 79,8 72,4 76,6 79,5 83,6 Halkidiki 81,4 73,9 78,3 80,2 85,1 Karditsa 83,3 74,1 79,2 80,9 85,8 Salonika 84,4 76,0 80,9 83,1 88,2 Drama 86,3 79,2 81,8 84,2 88,7 Evros 89,4 84,5 83,6 84,9 89,2 Magnisia 90,9 85,0 84,6 85,3 89,8 Xanthi 91,8 86,7 85,4 85,6 90,0 Etoloakarnania 92,2 87,1 85,6 85,9 90,3 Trikala 94,0 87,2 85,8 86,0 90,4 Thesprotia 94,1 87,3 86,0 86,4 90,8 Chania 94,3 88,3 87,1 86,8 91,1 Rodopi 96,0 90,7 88,1 87,0 91,2 Rest of Greece 4,0 9,3 11,9 13,0 8,8 Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0 Total number

17 4. Results: Comparison of employers demand to agriculture land and production in the main prefectures (3/6) The employer s demand is examined in relation to the main agricultural productions in the three prefectures, Imathia, Pella and Pieria. In 2010, those prefectures concentrate 70% of the total demand and 85% of the seasonal one, addressed to Albanian immigrants. The annual demand in every prefecture is compared to cultivated land and production of the previous year. Any positive relation may show an influence on the employers decision taken at the end of September of this year for seasonal and dependant workers. In the case of Imathia, peaches (mainly), cherries, apples and kiwi were considered because they constitute the basis of employers need and demand for third-country immigrants. 17

18 4. Results: Comparison of employers demand to agriculture land and production in the main prefectures (4/6) The evolution of the cultivated land in comparison to the employers demand does not show a relation, positive or negative, between them, table 4. The agriculture production of previous years seems influencing the employer s demand during the examined period. The annual observation shows a decline of the demand in 2007 in comparison with 2006, as a consequence of the application of the Law 3386/2005 and the criteria for the entry of immigrants was a good year of the production for all four products. That incited employers to ask an increased number of employees for the next year, 2009, table 4. The decline of the production for all four products in 2009 provoked a decrease of demands for

19 Table 4. Prefecture of Imathia: evolution of cultivated ground and production for important products and employers demand, (%) A/ Cultivated ground for 2006/ / / / /09 Peaches Cherries Apples Kiwi Employers demand -20,0 1,0 22,4-14,5 B/ Production of Peaches Cherries Apples Kiwi 2006/ / / / /09 Employers demand -20,0 1,0 22,4-14,5 19

20 4. Results: Comparison of employers demand to agriculture land and production in the main prefectures (5/6) In the case of Pella the productions of peaches, cherries, apples and asparagus were considered. The general observation is a positive influence of the production of asparagus on the employers demand, table 5. No clear relation, positive or negative, appears for the other products, mainly the peaches that are the most important production in this prefecture. In the case of Pieria, productions of tobacco, peaches, cherries, watermelon and kiwi were considered. Pieria presents a specificity because some immigrants are employed by the same employer to agriculture and tourism business although they are invited to work on agriculture business. The agricultural production seems to have an influence for some years table 6; the continuous decrease of the employers demand indicates that real need is less than this registered at the beginning of the examined period. 20

21 Table 5. Prefecture of Pella: evolution of cultivated ground and production for important products and employers demand, (%) A/ Cultivated ground for Peaches Cherries Asparagus Apples 2006/ / / / /09-2,1-2,9-100,0 - -0,2 3,6-100,0-2,3 6,9-12,1-81,2-0,7 0,8-100,0 - Employers demand -44,8 22,3-31,1 6,0 B/ Production of 2006/ / / / /09 Peaches -13,4% 3,5% 9,2-58,8 Cherries 21,5% 50,6% -6,5-38,1 Asparagus 17,1% 222,9% -73,7-84,0 Apples 70,5% -15,8% -86,4 500,0 Employers demand -44,8 22,3-31,1 6,0 21

22 Table 6. Prefecture of Pieria: evolution of cultivated ground and production for important products and employers demand, (%) A/ Cultivated ground for Tobacco Peaches Cherries Watermelon Kiwi 2006/ / / / / Employers demand -44,9-8,3-12,7-12,6 B/ Production of 2006/ / / / /09 Tobacco Peaches Cherries Watermelon Kiwi Employers demand -44,9-8,3-12,7-12,6 22

23 5. Conclusions (1/2) In this paper we tried to investigate the annual evolution of the entry of Albanian immigrants in Greece. The investigation was based on the demand for those immigrants from the Greek employers. This demand has determined since 2006 the entry of immigrants of third-country and therefore can give the orientation on the evolution of the entry of them. The investigation of the demand was specified by prefecture in order to have more qualitative results. The employers demand was the result of Greek legislative measures in order to manage the illegal immigration in Greece. It was expressed mainly by the Law 3386/2005 followed by ulterior laws and decrees. The entry of third-country nationals concerns mainly the seasonal immigrants. Those immigrants are mainly Albanian immigrants. Till the end of 2008 a part of them were Bulgarian immigrants, limited to some prefectures neighboring to Bulgaria; another limited part also concerns Egyptians immigrants who work only at fishery occupations. 23

24 5. Conclusions (2/2) This demand concerns mainly the agriculture sector and especially the land works. The investigation showed a decline of this demand the examined period, The total number reached immigrants in 2010 after a continuous decline especially at the beginning of the period. It appears that the annual demand may be placed on the number of immigrants; this number seems quite near to real need of employers. This demand seems to be influenced mainly from the agriculture conditions. Three prefectures in Central Macedonia, Imathia, Pella and Pieria are the main demanders (70% of total in 2010) of these immigrants for the land occupation and for specific agricultural products for some months of the year, mainly in summer and autumn. The economic crisis may have only a limited influence on the demand since this one concerns seasonal works, for a limited time period for specific agriculture works and where there is no local manpower available or interested to. 24

25 Thank you Simeon Karafolas 25