In the assurance that the government’s commitments to increase the minimum wage to 950 euros in 2027 are valid, the Minister of Labor Niki Kerameos continued, i a meeting he held with the president of ESEE Nikos Karanikas. The new demanding environment that is being formed labor market for commercial enterprises due to the requirements of the digital and green transition, as well as the major outstanding labor and insurance issues related to the commercial world, were discussed in the meeting held yesterday, Wednesday, July 10, in Ministry of Labor, nor a delegation of ESEE with leadership of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Labor and Social Security Ms. Niki Kerameos, the Deputy Minister Mr. Panos Tsakloglou, the Deputy Minister Mr. Giorgos Karagounis, the Secretary General of Labor Relations Ms. Anna Stratinaki and the Secretary General of Social Insurance Mr. Nikos Milapidis.
The positions of ESEE were presented by the President of the Confederation, Mr. Giorgos Karanikas, while the Vice-President Mr. Spyros Gerontitis, the General Secretary Mr. Nikos Bonis and ESEE’s Legal Advisor Mr. Antonis Megoulis joined. Representatives of the commercial world submitted to the Minister a detailed Memorandum of Positions and demands of the ESEE. For her part, emphasized Mrs. Kerameos from the beginning that the government promoted the dialogue with the social partners in search of points of convergence.
Digital Card
At the center of the excellent discussion that has become a climate of understanding and cooperation, is the course of the mandatory application of the Digital Work Card in Retail, which has started since July 1. The Minister asked the President of ESEE that there should be regular feedback from the Confederation of Ministry services for any problems or suggestions for improvement interventions regarding the Digital Work Card, emphasizing that if necessary in the next period there will be new explanatory circulars. . The President of ESEE pointed out that the control mechanisms should exhaust their advisory role and avoid sanctions for commercial SMEs, especially in the middle of the summer season and the process of connecting the POS to cash registers, which are currently in progress.
Minimum wage
Regarding the issue of determining the minimum wage, Mr. Karanikas reiterated ESEE’s consistent request that the decision-making authority be returned to the social partners, within the framework of the National General Collective Labor Agreement. Mrs. Kerameos noted that the government’s commitments to increase the minimum wage to 950 euros in 2027 are valid, at the same time pointing to the obligation of Greece to incorporate into national law the Directive of the European Commission on an adequate minimum wage and to develop collective bargaining that will determine the wages of employees. However, the Minister said that any effort to increase wages must be accompanied by a corresponding effort to reduce non-wage costs.
Upgrading
Both sides share the knowledge that small and medium businesses in general and the trade sector in particular are now and from now on more need to improve the skills of the entrepreneurs themselves and employees. The President of ESEE requested that specific specifications be placed in the center of the Ministry of Labor for the implementation of the updated Training Programs. Mrs. Kerameos promised that the Ministry of Labor will support in every way the efforts to develop commercial enterprises.