From Manolada to New Forms of Labour Exploitation: G2RED’s Policy Memorandum for a Fair and Effective Migration Policy — The New “Manoladas” in Focus

Generation 2.0 RED submitted a policy memorandum to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, presenting concrete proposals on issues that arise daily from the implementation of migration legislation and affect thousands of third-country nationals living and working in Greece.

We placed particular emphasis on the issue of migrant workers entering Greece through the labour migration procedure.

The reality we witness every day through numerous testimonies is becoming increasingly alarming. Workers who arrived legally in Greece through this procedure report excessively long working hours, unpaid labour, lack of rest days, and conditions of complete dependence on their employers.

The inability to change employers without putting their right to legal residence at risk creates conditions that facilitate labour exploitation and, in many cases, resemble practices we believed belonged to the past. Having left Manolada behind, we are now confronted with scattered new, smaller “Manoladas” across the country.

For this reason, we propose:

• Close cooperation between the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the Ministry of Labour;
• Effective and targeted inspections by the Labour Inspectorate of employers who employ migrant workers through the labour migration procedure;
• Guaranteeing workers the right to immediately change employers when they are subjected to exploitation or when their employment relationship ends, without losing their right to legal residence.

At the same time, our memorandum includes proposals to:

• address the significant delays in issuing and renewing residence permits;
• broaden access to the “second chance” residence permit;
• reinstate an effective regularisation procedure for people who have lived and worked in Greece for many years;
• remove restrictions that limit access to social benefits for people with disabilities;
• abolish the disproportionate five-year exclusion from applying for a residence permit;
• strengthen Greek-language learning and social integration policies.

Migration policy cannot be limited to controlling legal entry and residence. It must also ensure decent working conditions, effective administrative procedures, and genuine opportunities for social integration.

G2RED’s goal is to contribute to the public debate through evidence-based proposals and to advocate for a system that protects rights, strengthens the rule of law, and responds to the real needs of society.