Migrant staff lack insurance
Nearly one in three female immigrants working in Greece are uninsured and many are exploited by their employers, the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) claimed yesterday. According to IMEPO, of the 154,876 female immigrants in Greece, only 58,494 are insured. Most of these, 70 percent, work as cleaners with others employed as waitresses or factory staff. Over a third (35 percent) are Albanian, while most of the others are Bulgarian, Romanian or from the former Soviet Union. Around 18 percent of female immigrants are insured under the Farmers’ Pension Fund (OGA), according to IMEPO, which did not give figures for Social Security Foundation (IKA) coverage. «According to the fund for the self-employed (TEBE), women account for 37 percent of the working immigrant population,» IMEPO’s president Alexandros Zavos said. But the dependence of many on their employers often leads to exploitation, he said.
