Minister of State and Government Representative Akis Schertz on the occasion of her celebration may Day and after wishing everyone a “Happy Labor Day”, he refers in his post to 4 things needed to improve the job market.

“Strong economic growth with lower taxes on labor and capital is bringing in more and better new investment, as well as higher disposable income for workers.

Modern digital tools and control mechanisms to effectively detect the arbitrariness of employers and protect workers in practice.

The modern education system, along with large-scale training programs and retraining employed and unemployed to acquire new skills compatible with the needs of the labor market.

A new welfare state that relies more on the services of young working parents – Men And women- along with sound policies that turn unemployment benefits into incentives to work.”

“We have been implementing this policy for 4 years already, and I dare say that it has already brought significant results,” he emphasizes.

He also talks about 10 new policies that protect and empower jobs and workers in Greece and concludes: “Today’s Labor Day is a springboard for reflection and action to change what makes life difficult for workers in our country. country. The list of problems and distortions in the Greek labor market is long and we still have a long way to go. But with even stronger growth, new investments, a 25% wage increase through 2027 and worker protection rules, we will be able to get a modern labor market in our country that will keep young men and women in their place.”

“Happy May Day everyone!

We know very well the problems of the Greek labor market. Low wages, unpaid overtime and often unsafe work, limited connection of enterprises with higher and vocational education, limited support for young working parents and especially women to enter the labor market, low employment rates of youth and women compared to the rest of Europe, harassment jobs and bullying, the gender pay gap. There are many problems, they are eternal and a lot of structurally.

For this and it is worth asking: really, what is pro-labor today and what policies ultimately create a better working environment in our country?

We often hear leftists claiming a monopoly on workers’ sensibility, but the truth is that their ideas come literally from the last century and for this they do not solve today’s 21st century labor market problems or create more and better paying jobs.

On the contrary, our own policy says that in order to eliminate many of the existing distortions in the Greek labor market, we need 4 things:

Strong economic growth with lower taxes on labor and capital brings in more and better new investment, as well as higher disposable income for workers.

Modern digital tools and control mechanisms to effectively detect the arbitrariness of employers and protect workers in practice.

The modern education system, along with large-scale training programs and retraining employed and unemployed to acquire new skills compatible with the needs of the labor market.

A new welfare state that relies more on the services of young working parents – Men And women- along with smart policies that turn unemployment benefits into incentives to work.

We have been pursuing this policy for 4 years already, and I dare say that it has already brought significant results. By cutting taxes and fees by 50% over the past 4 years, we have managed to set a 20-year record for foreign direct investment, create 300,000 new jobs, reduce unemployment by 6 points since 2019, and raise wages by 20%.

Here are 10 new policies that protect and empower jobs and workers in Greece:

-digital work card to protect workers from unpaid overtime and unsafe work. Today it is used in banks, supermarkets, insurance companies, security companies and already in public deco. Everywhere in the next four years.

-Independent verification of work with modern verification tools, tablets, digital controls and intersections between EFKA, Office of labor and taxes. This way we will find those employers who do not declare their employees.

– We have converted unemployment benefit, work allowance for faster reintegration into the labor market of the long-term unemployed from the public employment service. If an unemployed person finds work while receiving unemployment benefits, they can now continue to receive 50% of this benefit while working. Thus, we encourage the unemployed to avoid undeclared work with higher disposable income.

-Mercy in the recovery fund we have more than 1 billion euros for mass training programs and retraining 700,000 young workers and the unemployed to acquire modern digital and green skills.

-We installed ethical framework and strong sanctions for sexual harassment and bullying in the labor market. #Me too this woke us up, and now Greece, thanks to our legislation, is among the 12 countries in the world that have legally achieved full equality between men and women in the workplace.

-We are expanding parental leave and maternity leave for women e. professionals to maintain work-life balance. We have introduced parental leave.

– We applied two-year preschool, we increased the number of childcare stamps, extended the work day until 5:30, and brought in a babysitter in the neighborhood to help more mothers find work.

-We installed the right to work remotely and disconnect.

– We gave union representation rights for platform workers and additional rights for couriers and distributors.

– We saved severance pay for foremen and other workers.

Today’s Labor Day is a springboard for reflection and action to change the things that make life difficult for workers in our country. The list of problems and distortions in the Greek labor market is long and we still have a long way to go. But with even stronger growth, new investments, a 25% wage increase through 2027 and worker protection rules, we will be able to get a modern labor market in our country that will keep young men and women in their place.”