780 euros, minimal salary from April 1, said the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a meeting at Megaros Maximos. As he noted, the size of the increase in the minimum wage reaches 9.4%.

The Prime Minister indicated that the new increase would affect unemployment benefits and all benefits related to the minimum wage. He also said that “the final agreed amount is at the upper limit of our ability, but well within the business’s ability.”

According to him, this is the third consecutive increase in the minimum wage. “From April 1, it will reach 780 euros from 650, which were in 2019,” he noted and added: “Since then, almost three additional salaries have been added to the income of approximately 600,000 employees every year.”

“I have no illusions. We know that wages in our country are still low and are being further squeezed by imported inflation. This new increase obviously does not solve the problem, but it certainly provides a very important relief and, above all, indicates our intention to raise wages in both the public and private sectors,” he said.

He also stated that the national economy remains in strong momentum and stressed that “it is time to support workers with a bold increase in base wages, because development dividends must be received fairly by all.”

“Good morning, today the Government is launching the third consecutive increase in the minimum wage by 9.4%.

So from April 1, it will reach 780 euros out of 650 euros – I remember – that were in 2019. This means that almost three additional salaries have been added to the incomes of approximately 600,000 workers every year since then.

The new increase will obviously take away unemployment benefits and all benefits related to the minimum wage. The Minister of Labor will tell about all this in detail in the near future.

I have no illusions. I know, we know that in our country, wages are still low, and they are being squeezed even more by imported inflation. This is something I hear all the time, especially from young people who are struggling to make ends meet.

This new increase clearly does not solve the problem. However, it certainly offers a very important relief and basically declares our intention to raise wages in both the public and private sectors.

I want to emphasize that the final amount that was agreed upon is at the upper limit of our possibilities. However, this is within the capabilities of the business, which, I want to remind you, was so supported by the Greek government during the pandemic.

At the same time, the national economy remains in strong growth dynamics, unemployment is steadily declining, and taxes are still being reduced. So the time has come to support workers with a bold increase in base wages, because the dividends of growth should be fairly reaped by all.”

The meeting was attended by:

• Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis,
• Minister of State Akis Skertzos,
• Prime Minister Deputy Minister Yiannis Bratakos,
• Secretary General for Labor Relations Anna Stratinaki,
• Head of the Economic Department of the Prime Minister Alexis Patelis,
• Dimitris Tsiodras, director of the Prime Minister’s press office.
• director of public relations for the Prime Minister Kira Kapi.