About 400,000 food and catering workers will receive wages from 815 to 1017 euros per month from June 1, as representatives of workers and employers reached an agreement to sign new Sectoral Collective Labor Agreement. The new contract will be for two years with a cumulative salary increase of 10.5%. This year employees they will see them salary immediately, from June 1, increase by 5.5%, and a year later, from June 1, 2024, apply an additional increase of 5%. At the same time and in order to limit blackness unsafe job in the sector, mainly during the summer months, when work is intensified and the new contract includes a condition added last year, according to which, on the one hand, a 5-day work week of 40 hours is protected, on the other hand, it provides that in in case of increased seasonal demand, if there is a contract for 6-day work, this must be paid additionally. This daily wage will be paid an additional 75% if their work falls on a weekend and falls on a Sunday or public holiday.

Thus, based on an increase of 5.5%, wages in the industry are determined as follows:

• For chefs, the base salary is 1017 euros.

• For cook A, the new salary is 822 euros.

• For cook B’ and cook C’ the salary will increase to 815 euros.

• Also, 815 euros will be the basic salary that spearmen, cleaners and bakers should receive.

• Especially for distributors, their new salary will be 822 euros.

• Those who work on a rotational basis at appointments through catering establishments will receive an increased daily wage of up to 71 euros.

At the same time, all benefits are preserved in the new Collective Agreement.

Representatives of workers and employers agreed to immediately sign certain clauses of the new contract with the prospect of its promotion to the Supreme Labor Council (STC) so that it can be ratified as generally binding in the industry. It is noted that literally in April last year, the Collective Agreement of hotel workers was extended to the entire industry, which was signed in December 2022. Of course, in the previous period, Collective agreements were concluded in industry and the confectionery sector, with a cumulative increase of 5% until the end of 2025 year for all categories of workers, as well as in the tobacco industry with an increase from 4% to 6.76% for certain categories of workers from January 1, 2023 to the end of 2024.

In the meantime, the Cosmetics Collective Bargaining Agreement has been expanded and made binding, providing for a higher base wage than the statutory minimum wage, depending on which level one belongs to, as well as various allowances, including marriage (10% ), children (1%, 2% and 5% depending on the number of children), nursery (200 euros for each child) and diploma (from 3% to 11%). Finally, the contractual working time per week is set at 38 hours instead of 40, with daily continuous employment.

In total, 217 collective labor agreements were concluded in companies in 2022 compared to 180 agreements in 2021. In fact, 80 of them (36% of the total) provided for an increase, and the remaining 137 provided for unchanged wage conditions compared to the past. These are the most active contracts since 2018.