The Minister of Labor made a comprehensive presentation of the labor market at the press conference for the minimum wage
A press conference aimed at further specifying yesterday’s decisions of the Council of Ministers on the new increase in the minimum wage and wage for 2025, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, cited a further government initiative.
The minister noted that from this initiative to increase the minimum wage and salary benefit more than 1.6 million citizens and indirectly even more. Mrs Kerameos made a comprehensive presentation of the labor market, while standing on the basic initiatives of the Ministry of Labor, in order to further stimulate employment:
– First of all we go and focus on the population groups where we see that there is significant room for improvement and I refer to women, young people, our fellow citizens with disabilities and our older fellow citizens. In motivation, with special initiatives we take, such as the recent Prime Minister’s recent initiative at the latest Thessaloniki International Exhibition for tax -free benefits from employers to working parents up to 5,000 euros for each child. So the first axis is the particular emphasis on those population groups in which we see significant room for improvement.
– The second axis is the particular emphasis on skills training and upgrading especially on green and digital skills. A very important project done by the Public Employment Service. Skills upgrade programs have already been completed exceeding 420,000 beneficiaries.
– Third axis The subsidized employment programs, such as a program currently running for our 55 -year -old fellow citizens, who are at a difficult age to find a job. So this program is coming and it is just subsidizing employment to a great extent. Employment in Municipalities, Regions, Legal Entities of Public Law and our fellow citizens, and find work at a critical age and many of them are close to the retirement years, are close to the prerequisites for retirement, but they have been missing some years. And thirdly, they have a very important work experience, which is contributed to legal entities of public law, who need this valuable work experience.
– The fourth axis is the emphasis on vocational education and training through the Schools of Public Employment Services. As you know, these schools in the morning, when one attends exactly these schools, do internships in a business and in the afternoon attends theoretical courses at the DBA apprenticeship schools. Schools that offer education, training in occupations and skills that are in high demand in the labor market. Like all the cooking chef spaces, confectioners, such as the technicians of all kinds of professions, that is, in very high demand.
– The fifth axis is the utilization of the mechanism of diagnosing the labor market needs. We go and see in real time and in the medium term and in the long run what are the real needs of the labor market in order to take into account every initiative, in every action. For example, in skill upgrade programs, given exactly what are the trends in the labor market.
– The sixth axis is career days both inside and outside the country. Career days public employment services have been made over 42 such days in 17 cities in our country. Over 9,000 of our fellow citizens have found a job through these coupling activities between businesses looking for staff and citizens looking for work. These actions have also expanded abroad. We were in the Netherlands recently, we were in Germany and next weekend we will be in the United Kingdom. It is precisely another action of such a conjunction between businesses looking for staff and Greek citizens living abroad and who have the thought of returning to our country.
– Seventh axis to enhance compliance with labor law. We have spoken extensively about the use of a digital work card, which is currently talking about 1.5 million employees. “
“All this is the main axes of the Ministry of Labor right now in order to further stimulate employment and to further reduce unemployment,” Niki Kerameos said.
The minimum wage started at 650 euros in 2019, today it is 830 euros, the tomorrow will be at 880 euros and in 2027 the target is 950 euros. An increase that reaches 28%, “he added.
“The minimum wage is determined upon recommendation of the social partners by decision of the Council of Ministers. This will change in two years based on its last law in December. So during these years of New Democracy’s rule, the minimum wage has increased by almost 28%. The average salary is shaped by the labor market and is of interest that an increase in the average salary, in those same years in 2019 as 2024, is absolutely parallel to the increase in minimum wage. So the ministerial ministerial increase is parallel to the increase in the average salary formed by the labor market. So we have a parallel increase of around 28% in both the minimum and the average salary. And here to emphasize the average salary of full and part -time, because as we shall see below, the average full -time salary is higher than 1342 euros, “Ms Kerameos stressed.
Referring to what the situation is today, before yesterday’s decisions of the cabinet, he said: “We are at 830 euros a month. An increase of 28% compared to 2019. The average full and part -time salary is at € 1342 and again an increase of 28%. The average full -time salary of 1478 euros per month. ” He also noted that more than 1.6 million citizens benefit from the increase in the minimum wage and the wage.
“Over 1.6 million citizens and more indirectly more,” he said, explaining that “more than 575 thousand are employees in the private sector who are paid minimum wage. All civil servants in the country benefit, everyone will see an increase in their salary. Those who receive benefits and benefits calculated on the basis of the minimum wage are also benefited and I am referring to maternity allowance, marriage allowance, parental leave, unemployment benefit … All these benefits are intertwined with the minimum wage. For example, the maternity license, which I recall, this government has expanded in nine months and to those who receive maternity leave, instead of being 830 euros will now be 880 euros. So the beneficiaries are not only the minimum wage workers, they are not only civil servants, but they are also all those who receive benefits at the base of the minimum wage and of course the three years calculated on the basis of the minimum wage. “
Mrs Kerameos stressed that the citizens are also indirectly benefiting, as “it has been shown that the increase in the minimum wage is also average salary.” “The procedure followed is the one passed by the recent December 2024 law. For the integration of the European Directive. Committees were set up and set up. The Scientific Committee and the Consultation Committee. It is the first time that social partners have been involved in an institution, the Consultation Committee. The current minimum wage was evaluated and proposals were made to increase it from scientific and research bodies to the Scientific Committee and the Consultant Committee, who also expressed their opinion. The KEPE designed the final consultation finding, which was forwarded to the government. Yesterday we had the meeting of the Council of Ministers on the minimum wage and the approval of the new increase in the minimum wage. At the moment we are already talking, the Council of Ministers have been in the process of signing yesterday and the joint ministerial decision will be followed to fully implement the new increase in the minimum wage from April 1, “he added.
What are the components taken into account? “First of all, growth, the country’s real GDP increased by 2.3%, investment in our country increased by 4.5% in 2024, and is expected to increase significantly in both 2025 and 2026, exceeding the European average. And obviously the increase in investment also marks an increase in labor productivity. Unemployment is at low 17 years, it is 8.7% in January 2025. More than 93,000 new jobs were created in 2024. Our country has the highest increase in employment in the European Union Member States with Luxembourg for the fourth quarter of 2024. The annual loss was reduced to 3% from 4% from 4%. 2025 is that it will be 2.5%, but we have two important issues. One is the increased energy costs and the second is the major issue of the housing. Issues that burden the purchasing power of our fellow citizens. The final suggestion of the KEPE proposed an increase of 3% to 5% in the minimum wage. The cabinet yesterday decided to increase these suggestions and go to over 6% or 50 euros each month to increase the minimum wage. So the proposed increase, approved by the Council of Ministers, is for full -time employees from 830 euros to 880 euros, “the minister said.
What will each employee receive after this new increase in the minimum wage?
Three examples in detail:
Employee without children:
- Gross salary of 880 euros.
- Net salary of 743 euros.
- Net monthly increase of 34 euros.
In time, this means clearly in the pocket for 473 euros and if you look at € 2,735 from 2019 from 2019 from 2019.
Working with a child
The difference is in taxation and essentially it will have net monthly earnings a little higher. That is, the employee without children will be clearly 743, while the employee with a child will have 752 euros at the end of the month.
Worker with two or more children
In a worker with two or more children, the net monthly increase is 43 euros per year. Will receive 606 euros more than last year.
The minister also stressed that as of April 1, Greece would have the 11th highest minimum wage among the 22 European Union countries.