Greece plans to recruit Egyptian farm workers amid labor shortage

• Greece plans to recruit workers from Egypt to fill temporary farming positions in a 2022 deal.
• The move is part of a deal to address a labor shortage in Greece, which is projected to grow nearly 3% this year.
• Egyptian officials have praised Greece for halting migrants from its northern coast to Europe since 2016.

The migration ministry announced on Friday that Greece will begin recruiting workers from Egypt this summer to fill temporary farming positions, as part of a deal between the countries aimed at addressing a labor shortage.

Following a decade of hardship, projections indicate that the Greek economy will grow nearly 3 percent this year, significantly surpassing the euro zone average of 0.8 percent.

During Greece’s economic crisis, an exodus of workers, a shrinking population, and strict migration rules have resulted in the country struggling to find tens of thousands of workers to fill vacancies in farming, tourism, construction, and other sectors.

Under the 2022 deal signed with Egypt, Greece will recruit around 5,000 seasonal farm workers.

The Greek Migration Ministry stated in a statement that the countries have discussed expanding the “mutually beneficial” scheme to the Greek construction and tourism sectors.

Employers’ groups, eager to find workers, have broadly supported the plan, despite migration being a long-standing divisive issue in Europe.

This week, Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis met with Egyptian Labour Minister Hassan Shehata in Cairo and proposed that the countries should also enhance cooperation to counter illegal migration flows in the region.

Egyptian officials have stated that their country deserves recognition for largely halting migrants from departing from its northern coast across the Mediterranean to Europe since 2016.

This year, the European Union announced a multi-billion-euro funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt as part of efforts to reduce the number of migrants crossing over from North Africa.

Rights groups have criticized Western support for Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who assumed power a decade ago after orchestrating the overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected leader.

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