The leaderships of the trade union organisations SEK, PEO and DEOK are set to submit a memorandum containing four demands to the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, with the primary request being an amendment to the Minimum Wage decree to raise it to a higher level. The unions are also calling for a one-to-one meeting with Mr Christodoulides in order to present their arguments in support of their demands.
More specifically, according to information published by Politis, the memorandum will include the following demands:
First, an upward revision of the Minimum Wage and the inclusion in the implementing decree of a provision for an hourly minimum wage. The unions argue that the current level of the Minimum Wage, in force since 1 January, does not meet the needs of vulnerable workers. Their main argument is that, as a percentage of the median wage, it is lower compared with the Minimum Wage set in 2024. The issue of an hourly minimum wage is also expected to be raised at the meeting of the Labour Advisory Board scheduled for Friday, 9 January.
Second, a review of the strategy governing the employment of workers from third countries. The unions believe that the existing framework perpetuates distortions in the labour market.
Third, the adoption of measures to extend the coverage of collective agreements, in line with the spirit of relevant EU directives. One tool proposed in this direction is the requirement for the application of collective agreements in companies that enter into contracts with the state.
Fourth, the acceleration of the implementation of the “Ergani 2” system, which would allow for improved real-time monitoring of labour market conditions and help prevent undeclared work.
This article was originally published on the Greek-language Politis website.