His intense discomfort Kostis Hatzidakis caused by the strike declared by a trade union organization in the Public Employment Service (DYPA), with the Minister of Labor specifically stating in his post on Facebook that he is actually in favor of “the crooks and abusers”.

“For the first time I see a strike in favor of the crooks and abusers! I am talking about the strike-abstention announced by the trade union organization at the Public Employment Service (formerly OAED), on the occasion of the implementation of the so-called “penal code of the unemployed”. What were the settings that bothered them so much? The income criteria established from January 1st for DYPA benefits. Deletion from the Registers when an unemployed person repeatedly refuses jobs. The imposition of a fine on allegedly unemployed people who work normally and mock the DYPA. However we do it, these common sense ‘penal code’ arrangements are definitely not!” emphasizes the minister.

As he notes, “the most absurd thing of all is that the trade unionists decided by themselves to prevent through this abstention the implementation of the provisions of the “Jobs Again” law that has recently been passed by the Parliament (n. 4921/2022). Likewise, it is the job of every trade unionist to deny for himself and his colleagues the application of the legislation and not to apply it, as the Constitution itself mandates!”

However, DYPA trade unionists must answer a series of questions:

“They consider it reasonable and fair that there are people registered in the DYPA Registers who receive benefits (special scoring in ASEP competitions, Social Tourism, discount policy for transport, theaters, etc.) and at the same time have incomes of 40-50,000 euros? (13,000 had self-declared an income of over 30,000 euros). Do they think it is reasonable and fair for some to work normally and declare themselves unemployed at DYPA? They consider it reasonable and fair not to apply, as is currently applied with the “Jobs Again” law, the system of 3 offers and 3 refusals, based on which an unemployed person is deleted from the DYPA Registers, when the DYPA offers him 3 suitable for him jobs and reject all 3? And even jobs corresponding to his studies and close to his home?” the Minister of Labor wonders.

“I am very sorry, but if they consider the above fair and reasonable, they are not actually turning against the Government. They are directed against the vast majority of citizens. But also against the unemployed who are actually looking for work and applaud these arrangements”.

However, the minister emphasizes, I want to dwell on one more point: The DYPA trade unionists were troubled even by the fact that DYPA appealed to the Court to declare the strike illegal, as it was finally declared. While the object of their strike was not the defense of their own labor demands, but to prevent the implementation of the legislation of a democratically elected government!

“We are determined to continue in the same direction. With our own policy, unemployment decreased from 17.5% in the summer of 2019 to 11.4% in February 2023. With our own policy, 300,000 new jobs were created between 2019-2022, of which 110,000 with the contribution of the Public Employment Service. With our own policy, the unemployed pass through the gates of the Universities for training for the first time. Because modern labor policy is the one that provides employment opportunities to the truly unemployed and not the one that fantastically rewards the unemployed!”