“In the last five years, key reforms have been carried out in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The goal is to build on the important five-year achievements for the benefit of workers, the unemployed, pensioners and, more broadly, society.” This was stated, among others, by the new Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, taking over the portfolio of the ministry from the outgoing minister, Domna Michailidou.

In the context of her speech, Mrs. Kerameos thanked the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, for his trust in her in key positions of responsibility and emphasized that she will make every possible effort cooperatively, with consistency and vision, in order to and from the new position to work for the everyday life and future of citizens.

As he underlined, the New Democracy government attaches particular importance to the issue of employment and the catalytic role of work. In fact, he noted that the ministry will continue to invest in the country’s valuable human resources.

In this direction, Mrs. Kerameos mentioned that, in the last five years, there has been an impressive reduction in unemployment, more than 400,000 jobs have been created, the minimum wage has increased again, while particular emphasis is placed on the reintegration of the unemployed into the labor market, in skills, counseling, work subsidy programs and vocational training actions.

According to Mrs. Kerameos, the second critical issue is the social security system, which is sustainable and characterized by a new philosophy of reciprocity, thus ensuring future pensioners, but without affecting current pensioners and all this, reducing the effects of demographic problem in the country’s insurance system.

Finally, the Minister of Labor referred to the recent legislative regulation of the ministry, which provides pensioners with the possibility to work, receiving their pension in full.

For her part, the outgoing Minister of Labor, Domna Michailidou, she thanked the prime minister and referred to the most important initiatives of the ministry that were implemented during her tenure, such as, for example, the fourth consecutive increase in the minimum wage, the extension of the maternity allowance to farmers and self-employed women, the increase in the debt limit from 20,000 euros to 30,000 euros for freelancers, to enable them to retire and from 6,000 euros to 10,000 euros for farmers, the implementation of innovative programs of the Public Employment Service, the camping period, which was strengthened and expanded and the social tourism, starting earlier than July 1.

Among other things, Mrs. Michailidou reminded that, with a legislative regulation of the Ministry of Labor, it was also ensured that working pensioners will receive their entire pension.

The new Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security, Konstantinos Karagounis, also assumed his duties.