Labour and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus on Friday revealed that the ministry is preparing a new bill on labour issues that aims to cut back bureaucracy, during a discussion with SKAI journalist Christina Vidou at the Delphi Economic Forum X.
"The ministry is working on a new labour bill for simplifying many processes that concern the functioning of the labour market, such as, for example, how you recruit someone. What we want, at the ministry, is to give the greatest possible flexibility in procedural matters, to cut back bureaucracy and to lift obstacles in anything relating to the smooth functioning of the labour market," she said.
Kerameus repeated that the government is steadily working toward an increase in the minimum wage to 950 euros per month by 2027, noting that it had already increased 35% relative to 2019, and said that this had also led to an increase in the average wage. She also pointed to a series of reductions of taxes and social insurance contributions, adding that the aim was to constantly increase the available income of citizens while taking into account the ability of businesses and the state to support this.
"We want there to be a legally established minimum wage as a protective shield and as a 'threshold', so that no one in the country is paid less than this sum," she said, adding that social partners would then be free to negotiate higher pay through collective labour agreements.
The minister also referred to the substantial decline in unemployment, to just 8.6%, saying the government's efforts were now focused on "problem" groups, such as young people, women and workers over 55 years old.