Reforms and interventions in the labor market for faster, but at the same time coherent growth and the contribution of businesses to this effort were at the center of yesterday’s meeting of the board of directors of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which was held in the presence of the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Adonis Georgiadis.

According to the announcement of the chamber, Mr. Georgiadis emphasized: “As Minister of Development I had the opportunity to have a very close and constructive cooperation with EBEA. However, the Ministry of Labor is like two sides of the same coin as the Ministry of Development. The two sides are cooperative and not antagonistic. The business cannot move forward if it does not provide its employees with satisfactory wages and a good quality of life. Accordingly, workers will not be able to claim more benefits and better wages if the companies they work for do not move forward. Well, actually what we need to do is for these two sides to work together for mutual benefit.

Undeclared and above all uninsured work is an important factor distorting the healthy competition of businesses. A business that operates legally and properly cannot easily compete with a business that works with black money and black labor. And sooner or later this will hurt her own effort. Well, you can’t have a vicious circle that doesn’t let us go forward.

EBEA can be an ally in this effort and can help with additional incentives to its members to fight undeclared and insecure work. I believe that the first legislative initiative that we voted in the Ministry of Labor in September moves in this direction. More incentives for legal work for both the employee and the business.”

For her part, the president of EBEA, Sofia Kounenaki Efraimoglou, underlined the importance of the joint effort of the State and businesses to achieve the government’s goals for employment and wages.

“Despite the successive crises, in recent years we have seen a steady decrease in unemployment, an increase in the number of employees, an increase in the minimum, but also the average wage. We are also seeing a noticeable improvement in the mix of new jobs, with an increase in full-time versus flexible forms. A series of reforms and interventions – in taxation and in the labor market – that encourage employment growth have contributed to this performance. Equally important, however, was the contribution of businesses. As the EBEA survey showed, 9 out of 10 businesses maintained or increased their staff in 2022,” said Mrs. Efraimoglou.

“As EBEA, we support the government’s initiatives to further increase the minimum wage and unfreeze the three years – always to the extent that the strengths and capabilities of small and medium enterprises are taken into account,” the president said referring to the government’s legislative initiatives. EBEA’s position remains, however, that stable, sustainable wage growth is linked to improved labor productivity, enhanced competitiveness and the extroversion of businesses. Building skills that meet the demands of the modern economy plays a key role in this goal.

“Difficulty in accessing staff with the right skills is already a growing concern in the market – as confirmed by the EBEA survey. And in the next period, we expect the problem to intensify. It is an issue on which we must focus seriously and in a concerted manner if we want to have a productive economy and competitive businesses, if we want to ensure employment prospects and better wages for workers”, emphasized Mrs. Efraimoglou. It is also necessary to increase the participation of young people and women in the labor market, implementing policies that reduce barriers and inequalities. The resources of the Recovery and Resilience Fund provide a unique opportunity to overcome these barriers. “We have every reason to work together, to ensure that these resources are used properly, in a way that responds to the needs of businesses, but also of society. As EBEA, we are actively participating in this effort, utilizing our structures and experience”, emphasized the president.

“An equally important demand for the business world, which directly concerns employment and the level of wages, is the reduction of non-wage labor costs. On this front, several steps have been taken in recent years, but there is room for further improvement, in order to approach the levels of other European Union and OECD countries. Any further intervention in this direction will have a positive impact on the economy and society, favoring the rise of registered employment”, noted Mrs. Efraimoglou.

Then the president presented the actions of the chamber that are implemented in collaboration with the state to improve the work environment. These actions are indicatively related to: the implementation of a permanent system for monitoring the needs and trends in the market, which will be supported by the chambers in cooperation with DYPA, the planning of incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises for the implementation of internal training and internship programs, the upgrading the Apprenticeship framework, based on the successful practices of other European countries.