The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, gave a speech on “Building a mutually beneficial relationship for employees and investors” at the 26th annual forum of Capital Link “Invest in Greece”, organized in New York.

At the start of her speech, the minister highlighted the significant transformation that the Greek economy has achieved in the last 5.5 years and referred to the rapid growth and increase in GDP, which was accompanied by a parallel increase in investments.

As he underlined, in the last five years, the investments in Greece they increased against 84%, marking the largest increase in Europe.

Ms. Kerameos emphasized that the positive changes that have been achieved in the economy are accompanied by radical changes in the labor market and the government’s concern is to ensure that the labor market will become more attractive and better meet the needs of workers, businesses and investors.

“From 2019 to date, the reforms we have implemented have led to the creation of 500,000 new jobs, a significant achievement for a country with a population of just over 10 million”commented the minister, pointing out at the same time that the unemployment it has halved over the past five years and for the first time since 2009 is at 9%.

Afterwards, Ms. Kerameos focused on the four measures taken by the Greek government since 2019, in order to help workers and businesses, which are as follows:

1. Reducing labor costs. Insurance contributions have fallen by 5.4% since 2019 and, by 2027, the total reduction will be 5.9%. This has significantly reduced non-salary costs, making it easier for employers to hire workers and for workers to increase their income.

2. Stability and predictability. Investors are obviously looking for stability and predictability in order to make long-term commitments and in this direction the government has worked hard to ensure that the political and economic landscape in the country is stable in contrast to the situation that prevails in other European Union countries. “Last week, we built the concept of predictability into the minimum wage as well,” said the minister, referring to the institutionalization of the new system for calculating the minimum wage, through a mathematical formula.

“This more predictable, more objective system will help workers and businesses in their medium and long-term planning”explained Ms. Kerameos.

3. Upgrading and upskilling the workforce. “The rapid development of technology, particularly with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, is transforming the labor market and it is our duty to ensure that the workforce has the skills required and attract investment,” added the Minister of Labor and then referred to the creation of training and retraining programs, which focus on green and digital skills, the special importance given to Vocational Education and Training, but also to the upgrading of the Needs Diagnosis Mechanism in the Labor Market.

4. Increase employment. “Despite the significant reduction in unemployment, there is scope for increasing employment, especially in certain categories of citizens, such as women, young people, people with disabilities and our older fellow citizens”found Ms. Kerameos, which then referred to measures taken to increase employment and, specifically: a) the creation of subsidized employment programs for the unemployed who do not have work experience or professional qualifications, b) the “Career Days”, through which the pairing is made between companies and people looking for work, c) to attract Greeks from the diaspora and to organize similar events in foreign countries, in order to come to contact with Greek companies, which are looking for staff.

“Over the last 5.5 years we have taken important steps to modernize the labor market in Greece and create a more competitive economy. Challenges lie ahead, but we are committed to continuing our reform agenda in order to make Greece even more attractive for investment.”said Ms. Kerameos.

Also, the Minister of Labor visited the offices of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in New York and held a working meeting with its officials. In addition, Ms. Kerameos had the opportunity to make bilateral contacts with representatives of important international investment companies.