(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, MAY 8 - In its government programme, the
defeated PASOK party promised that Greece would return ''to its
origins'' by relaunching its agricultural industry to generate
jobs. A plan that would have been doomed to failure according to
reports coming from the northern part of the country.
A job offer in the sector, although temporary, was completely
ignored by young Greeks, a segment of the population currently
crushed by unemployment, while thousands of interested
foreigners eagerly responded. Two weeks ago, the Young Farmers'
Union of Greece posted a job offer on the internet stating that
farmers were looking for help with the peach harvest in the
Imathia and Pella regions in central Macedonia (northern
Greece).
Unemployment figures in the area are dramatic, hitting 50% in
Pella and 25% in Imathia. The job offer was for 6 days a week at
23 euros per day for 4 months out of the year, including room
and board. Anyone who was interested simply had to send a text
message to a number provided in the ad to express their
interest. Nearly 5,000 people responded to the Union's ad, with
4,885 Albanians (over the years these immigrants have mainly
been employed in the agriculture and construction industries)
and only 19 Greeks expressing interest, including a retired
doctor and an unemployed engineer. ''This year,'' said Nikos
Angelopoulos, the President of the Young Farmers' Union of
Imathia, while speaking to Protothema, a Greek weekly newspaper,
''we were expecting significant interest from the Greek public
due to the crisis and high unemployment levels. But it seems as
though Greek people do not want to work in the agricultural
industry. We know that this is hard work, but when you don't
have a job, you take the work that is available. To satisfy the
requests we will probably hire foreign workers from nearby
countries, Bulgaria, Albania and FYROM (Greece does not
recognise the name Macedonia for the former Yugoslavian
republic, editor's note).''
There are around 1,700 farmers in the Imathia region, who
need about 5,000 workers for the peach harvest four months out
of the year. The news came a few days after the Greek government
announced that the unemployment level in the country rose to 22%
for the first time. (ANSAmed).
