The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Adonis Georgiadis, referred to the benefits arising from the implementation of the Digital Labor Card.

As Mr. Georgiadis pointed out, the Digital Job Card as a tool, it can and does record overtime much better than the pre-announcement of overtime in the “ERGANI” Information System, as the recording is done in real time. According to the minister, in the companies that will implement the Digital Labor Card, the working time of all employees will be recorded with an accuracy of a second, “therefore, their overtime will be paid in full” and there will be no need for subsequent corrections, in case of modification of the work program.

For salary increases, Mr. Georgiadis made a special reference to islands, such as Santorini and Milos, which signed a local collective labor agreement for tourism. “The local collective labor agreement, which they have signed, has excessively increased wages than they have been in force until now” underlined the Minister of Labor and explained that the reason this happened is because there is a great need for workers and this need leads to better wages .

“So the same thing will happen overall in our economy if we continue on the same path, attracting investment and opening new jobs. If we trust the economy and its laws, everything will be fine. It is not a matter of government intervention. The job of government intervention is to make the business environment more favorable, i.e. to bring in more investors,” noted Mr. Georgiadis.

In a question about the measures to protect workers from thermal stress, under heat conditionsthe Minister of Labor replied to ERT that the Ministry of Labor moved immediately, convening on Monday, July 10, 2023, a meeting with the Meteorological Service, official agents and the Labor Inspectorate, while, on the same day, detailed instructions and a circular were issued.

At the same time, yesterday, July 11, 2023, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection and, today, the ministerial decision will be signed, which will have mandatory legal effect on all businesses. “This automatically means that the Labor Inspectorate can impose fines on those who violate the directive of the Ministry of Labor” explained Mr. Georgiadis.

In fact, he clarified that, at this stage, there is no possibility of businesses closing due to heat. “Banning outdoor work in the sun, yes. This is mandatory. But there is no reason to close a business that has air conditioning. What interests us is the safety of the workers.

If one works in an air-conditioned space, one is safe. Our main concern now is for people who work outside in the sun. Where the phenomenon is very intense, no outside work is allowed at all. We urge all companies that can, to put their employees in telework” repeated the Minister of Labor.