Scheme for migrants to find jobs
Greece will take part in a program that aims to tackle illegal immigration by offering jobs to migrants on short-term contracts and providing them with greater financial rewards if they return to their homelands, it was revealed yesterday. The head of the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO), Alexandros Zavos, said that Greece may launch the pilot program, which is being run in cooperation with the World Bank and the International Organization for Migration, next year. «The pilot program that we are looking at will not reduce the illegal entry of migrants and all the health and security problems this entails,» said Zavos. «But it provides a motive for legal migration to our country.» Some 500 migrants will be brought to Greece initially to fill skilled positions in sectors where Greek companies are unable to find the appropriate personnel. The migrants will only be given a percentage of their wages in Greece. The remainder will be paid when they return to their homelands. If the migrants stay in Greece, they will forfeit the remainder of their wages.
