The Minister of State and Government Representative Akis Schertsos on the occasion of the celebration of May Day and after wishing “a happy Labor Day to all” he refers in his post to the 4 things required for improvement in the labor market.

“Strong economic growth with lower taxes on labor and capital bringing more and better new investment along with higher disposable income for workers.

Modern digital tools and control mechanisms to effectively detect employer arbitrariness and to protect workers in practice.

Modern education system together with massive training and retraining programs for workers and the unemployed to acquire new skills compatible with the needs of the labor market.

A new welfare state that relies more on services for young working parents – men and women – along with smart policies that turn unemployment benefits into work incentives.”

“We have been implementing this policy for 4 years and I dare say that it has already brought significant results,” he underlines.

He also talks about the 10 new policies that protect and empower work and workers in Greece and concludes by noting: “Today’s Labor Day is a springboard for thinking and action to change what makes life difficult for workers in our country. The list of problems and distortions in the Greek labor market is long and we still have a long way to go. But with even more dynamic growth, new investments, higher wages by 25% until 2027, and worker protection rules, we will succeed in obtaining in our country a modern labor market that will keep young men and women in their place”.

The following is the full post of the government representative

“Happy May Day to all!

We know very well the problems of the Greek labor market. Low wages, unpaid overtime and often insecure work, limited connection of businesses with tertiary and vocational education, limited support for young working parents and especially women to join the labor market, low employment rates for young people and women compared to the rest Europe, workplace harassment and bullying, gender pay gap. The problems are many, timeless and largely structural.

That is why it is worth asking: really, what is pro-labor today and which policies are the ones that ultimately create a better working environment in our country?

We often hear the Left claiming a monopoly on sensitivity for workers, but the truth is that their ideas literally come from the last century and therefore neither answer today’s 21st century labor market problems nor create more and better paid jobs.

On the contrary, our own policy says that in order to cure the many existing distortions in the Greek labor market we need 4 things:

Strong economic growth with fewer taxes on labor and capital bringing more and better new investment along with higher disposable income for workers

Modern digital tools and control mechanisms to effectively detect employer arbitrariness and to protect workers in practice

Modern education system together with mass training and retraining programs for workers and unemployed to acquire new skills compatible with the needs of the labor market

A new welfare state that relies more on services for young working parents – men and women – along with smart policies that turn unemployment benefits into work incentives.

We have been implementing this policy for 4 years and I dare say that it has already brought significant results. By reducing 50% of taxes and levies in the last 4 years, we have managed to bring a 20-year record in foreign direct investment, created 300,000 new jobs, reduced unemployment by 6 points since 2019 and increased wages by 20%.

Here are 10 new policies that protect and empower work and workers in Greece:

-digital work card to protect workers from unpaid overtime and insecure work. To date, it is applied in banks, supermarkets, insurance companies, security companies and already in public DEKOs. In the next four years everywhere.

-Independent work inspection with modern control tools, tablets, digital controls and intersections between EFKA, Ergani and tax administration. This way we will find those employers who do not declare their employees.

-We transformed the unemployment benefit into a work benefit for faster reintegration into the labor market of the long-term unemployed from the public employment service. If an unemployed person finds a job while receiving unemployment benefit they can now continue to receive 50% of it while working. Thus we encourage the unemployed to avoid undeclared work by having a higher disposable income.

-Thanks to the recovery fund we have more than 1 billion euros for massive training and retraining programs for 700,000 young workers and unemployed to acquire modern digital and green skills.

-We established an ethics framework and strict sanctions for sexual harassment and bullying in the labor market. #metoo woke us up and now Greece, thanks to our legislation, is among the 12 countries worldwide that have legally achieved full equality between men and women in the workplace.

-We extend parental and maternity leave to female e-professionals to support work-life balance. We introduced paternity leave.

-We implemented two-year pre-school education, increased vouchers in nurseries, extended the full day until 5.30 and introduced the neighborhood nanny to help more mothers to work.

-We established the right to telecommuting and disconnection.

-We gave union representation rights to platform workers and additional rights to couriers and food delivery distributors.

– We equalized the severance pay for the craftsmen with the rest of the employees.

Today’s Labor Day is a springboard for thought and action to change what makes the lives of workers in our country difficult. The list of problems and distortions in the Greek labor market is long and we still have a long way to go. But with even more dynamic growth, new investments, higher wages by 25% until 2027, and worker protection rules, we will succeed in obtaining in our country a modern labor market that will keep young men and women in their place”.