Crete: Lack of land laborers – Farmers prone to late harvests

Cretan farmers point out that the procedures for re-calling and legalizing workers for the primary sector have been left on paper, and are sounding the alarm and warning that now the lost time cannot be turned back and, due to the lack of workers, they are forced into later harvest and production.

The lack of land workers this year is also a thorn in the primary sector, where in many cases farmers left their fields and trees unharvested.

In particular, the Unified Agricultural Association of Ierapetra points out that the procedures for the transfer and legalization of labor personnel for the primary sector cannot yet be processed in their entirety and to the desired extent.

“The only change is the initiation by the Ministry of Labor for the approval of an additional number of jobs per Prefecture and Region, for which a joint ministerial decision ​​is expected to be issued immediately”, he notes, stressing that in all other stages the problems that have been pointed out for a long time still exist and the immediate application of the relevant provisions becomes practically impossible.

Con artists try to cheat farmers

At the same time, as it is alleged, con artists are trying to cheat farmers by collecting an advance payment to complete the recall or legalization process in a short period of time, which cannot be done.

At the same time, the farmers of Crete warn once again, that the time lost on this matter cannot be made up and the negative effects are now certain, starting with the fact that all crops will be shifted to very late production and harvest. “The government’s actions are solely responsible for all of the above predicaments, as even today there are no signs that the relevant ministers have understood the magnitude of the problem, otherwise they would have acted differently,” farmers note.