NGO watchdog to look over interests of migrant workers in Manolada

Following allegations of abuse of migrant workers in the area of Manolada in the western Peloponnese, a new watchdog was launched on Wednesday to monitor the working and living conditions of migrant labourers in the area.

This new human rights observatory was launched by the "Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality and Diversity", and is aptly called "Manolada Watch".

According to the organisation, the initiative is aimed at informing and raising awareness about what is happening in Manolada within the Greek society and the pertinent authorities. 

The organisation aspires to report on the situation at least on a monthly basis, emphasizing any possible problems the workers are facing but also "praising any initiatives undertaken in the direction of equality and justice for all."

During an autopsy visit in the Manolada area  last December, the announcement continued, when demand for seasonal workers was starting to surge due to strawberry planting, Generation 2.0 found that migrant workers originating mostly from Bangladesh were being housed "as usual, in extremely poor conditions," without sufficient access to toilets and running water.

Referring to a fire that broke out in a Manolada labourer's camp last summer, the organisation said that "no improvement to reckon with has been made ever since."