the asylum procedure or pending registration (fully registered, pre-registered and unregistered while willing to apply for asylum), the vast majority of respondents (80%) were either not working (63%), in most cases during the 12-month period preceding their participation to the survey, or were only able to find occasional work (17%). Moreover, of those working on a regular (20%) or occasional (17%) basis, the majority (56%) were doing so without any type of legal contract, indicating significant levels of labour exploitation. Lack of knowledge of the language, lack of documentation and the inability to find legal employment were noted as the main three challenges with respect to finding work in Greece, followed by the lack of knowledge on how to find employment and the lack of day care for the children, which to GCR’s experience particularly affects single parent households with a female head. Discrimination/racism was also noted as a hindering factor in 5 out of 107 cases, while in only 2 cases did respondents state they did not wish to find work in Greece at the time. A December 2023 study commissioned by UNHCR, as part of which more than 3,700 applicants and beneficiaries of international protection were surveyed between May-July 2022, seems to further corroborate this data. Namely, as per the study’s findings, 1094 of the total participants of the survey, 64% were not working in the 4 weeks preceding their participation to the survey, even though more than half (52%) were actively looking for work. Of the rest of those not working, slightly more than 1 in 10 (11%) stated they had been doing unpaid work, 9% that they were unable to work on account of sickness or disability and close to 1 in 4 (24%) were at the time not looking for a job. The study also identified a gender-based gap vis-a-vis access to employment, with women being affected to a significantly higher degree than men (women unemployment stood at 82%, as opposed to 54% for men). Interestingly, no significant difference vis-à-vis employment was found based on respondents’ legal status, with unemployment affecting to near similar extents applicants (66%) and beneficiaries (62%) of international protection. By contrast, the correlation between the type of accommodation and employment was much more pronounced, with applicants and beneficiaries who were self-accommodated displaying significantly higher degrees of access to employment (68%) compared to those residing in the former ESTIA scheme or supported through the Helios project (16%) and even more so compared to those residing in camps (10%). This seems to re-affirm persisting challenges in accessing the labour market for applicants residing in mainland camps, on account of the secluded nature of their accommodation and prolonged displacement, reported in previous years. 1095 High levels of exploitation/undocumented labour were also found by the study, with only 36% of working applicants (and 48% of beneficiaries), being able to do so with a formal contract, while in all cases of those working, wages were identified as being much lower than the Greek national minimum wage, even though weekly working hours were in 41% of cases similar to average working hours for Greek nationals and in 22% of cases more (60-hour working weeks). A third of participants (31% in the case of men and 33% in the case of women) also reported feeling discriminated against in the labour market, while a very high percentage of all participants (68%) reported having to resort to negative coping mechanisms, such as skipping meals, on account of economic hardships.1096 In another research conducted by GCR, IRC, and Diotima between November in spring 2022 with more than 180 respondents, lack of Greek and/or English courses, the lack of a social network and connection with the Greek labour market, insufficient information on the relevant procedures, obstacles in recognising their qualifications and skills, prolonged displacement, secluded accommodation, or restriction of movement imposed, delays in access to the asylum system on mainland Greece, and racism and discrimination, were among the main issues reported. 1097 The same pattern prevails in more recent research1098, as significant challenges, including labour rights violations, vulnerabilities linked to precarious insecure legal statuses, and systemic barriers to formal employment are still present, with 30% of respondents engaged in undeclared work, predominantly in sectors like construction and domestic work. 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 Casalis M. et.al., Home for Good? Obstacles and Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Greece, December 2023, available at https://tinyurl.com/ycyacy57, pp. 24-26. AIDA, Country Report: Greece, 2021 Update, May 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3MRVkLf, p. 185 and AIDA, Country Report: Greece, 2022 Update, June 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3PUOVk9, p. 184. Casalis M. et.al., Home for Good? Obstacles and Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Greece, December 2023, available at https://tinyurl.com/ycyacy57, pp. 28-32. GCR, IRC, Diotima, Do the human right thing: Seeking a new life, seeking employment, March 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/42eyDWf. Data derived from 183 participants from September 2021 to February 2022. SolidarityNow, Generation 2.0., Revealing the Unseen Migrant Workers, March 2025, available here. Data derived from 228 respondents from Athens and Thessaloniki. 203