A 4% increase in the minimum wage is proposed by SEV, estimating that this percentage “reflects the real capabilities of businesses and can strengthen the entire economy”.
At the same time, he links this increase with a series of measures such as the reduction of employee taxation and non-salary costs (insurance contributions) by 2.6% in the two years 2025 – 2027. “These are two structural problems of the Greek labor market – he notes the Association – which burden both the real disposable incomes of workers and the competitiveness of businesses”.
Michaelidou – SEV meeting
These positions were developed by the presidency of the Association to the Minister of Labour Domna Michailidouwhich she met in the context of the minister’s contacts with the representatives of the social partners.
In particular, in order to strengthen labor income, the representatives of Greek industry developed their position for a reduction in the taxation of wage labor, emphasizing that the tax burden in Greece in 2022 was on average 34.6% (19th highest position among the 38 countries of OECD) and it is now imperative to reduce the taxation of salaried employment, which will have direct positive consequences on the disposable income of households.
At the same time, they reiterated their position that any change in the minimum wage must be accompanied by a reduction in the non-wage cost of wage labor by at least 2.6% in 2025-2027, so that it begins to approach the average among the countries of OECD.
The increase
In the meantime, the countdown to the establishment of the new minimum wage has begun, as the government’s decision will be officially announced on March 22. The government seems to be intent on – clearly – higher increases than the employers’ proposals, which are a far cry from the GSEE’s proposal.
An increase of 40 to 50 euros is included in the government scenario, which, if implemented, will set the minimum wage at 820 to 830 euros, from 780 which it is today. In recent years, minimum wages have increased by 20% from 650 euros in 2019 to 780 in 2023, while the government commitment foresees reaching 950 euros in 2027.
The government has not “opened its papers”, however both the Prime Minister, Mr. K. Mitsotakis, and the Minister of National Economy, Mr. K. Hatzidakis, have stated that the new salary will have eight as the first number, that is to say, it is over 800 euros.
“The minimum wage and wages in general are related to productivity. It is important to ensure a higher standard of living for workers, without causing damage to the competitiveness of the economy”, emphasizes the Deputy Minister of Labor Mr. P. Tsakloglou
During the process of establishing the new minimum wage, one finds that the positions of employers and employees are separated by an “abyssal gap”, more than twelve percentage points.
According to the proposals submitted by the social partners, the differences are unacceptable. Employers propose increases from 3.5% (ESEE) to 5% (SETE), i.e. a new minimum wage of 807.3 euros to 819 euros. Employers insist that the rise should run low in line with the level of inflation in 2023, which was around 3.5%. The Bank of Greece’s proposal is also moderate, hovering around 4%.
On the other side, GSEE proposes an increase of around 16.4%, i.e. an increase of 128 euros and setting the new minimum wage at 908 euros.
Purchasing power
Our country occupies the eighth worst position in the European ranking that compares the level of the minimum wage in units of purchasing power. In fact, the monthly salary in Greece reaches 1,031 purchasing power units and falls short of the minimum wage of countries such as Romania, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Poland.
This important element is highlighted by the analytical report of the GSEE Labor Institute, which refers to the organization’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to 908 euros.
According to the GSEE, the necessity for a significant increase in the minimum wage is also justified by the particularly low performance recorded by Greece in a series of indicators that reflect the standard of living of workers and the poorest income households. It is characteristic that in 2022 the country had the fifth highest percentage of workers at risk of poverty among EU member states. In fact, 44.5% of households with low incomes faced conditions of severe material and social deprivation.
The steep decline in the purchasing power of the minimum wage in our country – despite its successive increases in recent years – is a result of the increase in domestic prices, the higher cost of imported, mainly energy, products, but also intense speculative practices and greedy profits that they feed accuracy.
The contracts
At the same time, the GSEE raises the question of the lag that our country presents with regard to collective negotiations and collective labor agreements. According to the latest estimate of the Labor Institute, in 2023 the percentage of employees covered by collective labor agreements will reach 31%. And this at a time when the relevant EU Directive stipulates that the member states, with the participation of the social partners, should undertake an action plan in order to increase the coverage rate of collective bargaining to at least 80%.
The GSEE considers the immediate increase of the minimum wage to 908 euros per month and the reinstatement of its determination in the institution of the National General Collective Labor Agreement as absolutely necessary.
At the same time, it calls for the restoration of the protective regulations of individual and collective labor law (universality of the terms of collective labor agreements, their full retroactivity, the principle of favoring their “confluence” and extending their validity).
Finally, it requires the removal of institutional and legislative obstacles to increase the coverage of workers by collective labor agreements to a percentage of more than 80% of employees.
Source: ot.gr
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