Announcement by SETIP, Teleperformance & Webhelp Workers’ Union on the special purpose visa issue

We won!

A Circular of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum informs to its services, that they will no longer need to ask for an employment contract during the examination of supporting documents for the renewal of residence permits.

For the renewal of a residence permit, the following will be required: a) proof of fulfillment of tax obligations during the period of validity of the residence permit to be renewed, b) proof of possession of active insurance capacity and c) receipt of one hundred and fifty (150) euros.

This directive is aiming to clarify how the process will be and is temporary. It comes to cover an existing gap until the announcement and full implementation of the new law. It applies to immigrants who are already in Greece and also covers those who work in call centers. We remain alert to see exactly what the new law will state. It is a great victory for our movement as the residence of immigrants from countries outside the European Union in Greece is freed from their working relationship with Teleperformance, Webhelp and the other of the Call Centers.

The united class-oriented decisive struggle of the Call Center workers, mainly in Teleperformance and Webhelp, united and strengthened under the banners of SETIP and the newly formed company-level unions in Teleperformance and Webhelp brought significant results. Without our repeated heroic strikes, our protests outside the Ministries and the Parliament, without the submission of our demands to the Ministers and the President of the Parliamen,t we would not have had any change in the legal slavery visa. Our struggle through our class-oriented unions is the only path to victory.

We continue our fight for full human, political, labor, insurance and pension rights for all workers who live, toil and produce where they live. We all join our class-oriented unions! We are intensifying our fight. We are fighting for Collective Bargaining Agreements with significant wage increases and working rights.