Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-31

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Collective bargaining a 'fundamental labour right', ILO chief says after meeting Tsipras

[02] Closed reception centers will reinforce asylum procedures, says Migration Policy Min Mouzalas

[01] Collective bargaining a 'fundamental labour right', ILO chief says after meeting Tsipras

Welcoming Ryder, Tsipras noted that this visit came "at an extremely critical time for Greece in its efforts to recover" and gave a "strong symbolic message that our efforts to stop a seven-year state of exception from European best practices on labour rights must be vindicated."

The prime minister expressed his conviction that with this broader support for Greece, "developments indicate that we will likely have a good result in the negotiations underway for the second review."

Leaving the meeting, Ryder noted that the right to collective bargaining was one of the fundamental labour rights that the ILO defends. "We believe that respect for this right, and taking it into account, is an important part of the consideration, not just for the Greek players (government, employers, workers) but also for your international partners," he told reporters, adding that the ILO will "strongly support" this case.

The ILO director-general said it was important to link specific conditions in Greece with the future of Europe and the European social model. "The future of Europe must be strongly based on the social values that made it successful for decades," he said, adding that Greece's case was directly linked to Europe's future.

[02] Closed reception centers will reinforce asylum procedures, says Migration Policy Min Mouzalas

Mouzalas was answering to a question tabled by New Democracy (ND) MP Notis Mitarakis in Parliament.

Moreover, the minister opposed an immediate stop in the operation of the Souda reception centre, announcing his intention to call a meeting next week with the participation of all the involved agencies, the regional governor, the mayor of Chios and the local deputies in order to examine the existing options and to find a solution within the context of the EU-Turkey Statement for the migrants and refugees stranded on Chios.

On his part, Mitarakis said that the migrants and refugees stranded on Chios exceed 3,600, while both hotspots (Souda and VIAL) are illegal. He also said that the asylum procedure is problematic, given that 400 asylum applications submitted by migrants and refugees on Chios have been examined and rejected but authorities have not notified the migrants and refugees involved of the decision and they have not been returned to Turkey.

Mouzalas agreed that conditions on Chios has exceeded the residents' limits and admitted the problem with the notifications. However, he noted that only 52 asylum applications have been examined and rejected at second instance, not 400. "We are aware of the situation. Without closed centres the decisions at second instance can't be enforced," said Mouzalas.

Finally, he said that "we will undertake additional measures to prevent abuse of asylum. We will restrict privileges for return to their home country. If they do not voluntarily request it within five days of their arrival, they will not be entitled to request it," he said.

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