A. Skertsos: Working in Greece 2.0

The national recovery and resilience plan “Greece 2.0”, with a commitment of 3.5 billion euros to finance 15 major public investments and 12 reforms in favor of employees, the unemployed, students, students and businesses, is the government answer to the problems faced by the workers and the domestic labor market: this is underlined, in an article in “Vima tis Kyriakis”, by the Minister of State ‘Akis Skertsos, responsible for the coordination of government policies. With a policy “for them”, “only economic policy that manages to add new and better jobs to the economy can be considered a progressive, effective and fair policy”.

On the occasion of May 1, the Minister of State writes first about the May Day of 1886, “thanks to which fundamental labor rights were guaranteed during the 20th century in Greece and the world, (but) it has unfortunately degenerated for several years with wooden announcements and protest marches that are becoming less and less relevant to today’s workers and the problems of the 21st century. “, reflection, inspiration and action to change for the better the conditions that prevail today in the Greek labor market”, he notes in an introduction.

And, “so as not to hide behind our finger, things have not been good for the private sector workers in our country for many years. The brain drain of the difficult times of the crisis was not only a result of rising unemployment but also a cachectic labor market that does not offer equal opportunities for employment, career advancement and salary advancement.

In real life, the domestic labor market is to a large extent, with always bright exceptions, a difficult environment for most of its employees. “Especially for four categories: women, young people, working parents but also those who want to work legally, to be paid with dignity and to acquire new skills”.

In the continuation of his article, the Minister of State refers to the Eurostat data for Greece and the rest of Europe, and from the comparison the resulting picture is not rosy, as he states.

In detail: “More than half of economically active women (52%) [σ. σ. στη χώρα μας] do not work, while in the EU this percentage is close to ⅓ (36%). We have twice as much youth unemployment as the European average. Our country is, according to the competent European organization CEDEFOP, in the last positions of the single European space (from the 27th to the 30th position) in terms of utilizing and combining the skills of employees with the needs of the labor market. The “knowledge workers” who graduate from the Greek university have difficulty finding a job that matches their qualifications and ambitions. The retraining of workers and the unemployed is of poor quality. It is precisely these poor performances that are sources of social inequalities that are reproduced and widened.

In addition, the minimum wage and average income are low in relation to the cost of living, rents and bills. Taxes and levies “eat” a significant part of disposable income, at a higher rate than in other EU and OECD countries. There is no equal pay for equal work between men and women. Nor the same opportunities for professional development. Hours are being abused, overtime is not being paid, sexual harassment in the workplace is still a taboo that is not easily reported but hurts lives and careers. The social network of support for young working parents to take care of our children is not enough.

In short, the list of problems and distortions is long and stems from the state itself, its previous educational, labor and social policies, but also from the very structure of our economy and businesses. “The real convergence of the Greek labor market with the European data is still a highly demanded and existential goal of our policy”, he states at the end of the mapping of the problems of the domestic labor market.

Given this, one might wonder if “everything is black and pessimistic?”. “Everything else”, A. hurries to answer. This is because the first step in tackling a problem is to identify it and define it correctly. The next step is to look for the resources and solutions that will make up an action plan. The government is aware of the problems and also has the plan. “resources and the will to change the domestic labor market for the better. In fact, we have already implemented it,” he said.

This is the national recovery and resilience plan “Greece 2.0”, where we have committed 3.5 billion euros to finance 15 major public investments and 12 reforms in favor of workers, the unemployed, students, students and businesses. “.

And as part of this plan, “we are boosting the disposable income of all workers, especially the low-wage earners. when it returns to all citizens.

We are transforming the former OAED from an “unemployment trap” and an organization of benefits into a modern, digital employment organization that empowers the real unemployed with new skills and rewards those who are actively looking for work.

We are creating a network of support for working parents – and especially the working mother – with the “neighborhood nannies”, the new daycare centers in the companies, the extended school hours and the additional parental leave, so that parenthood is not an obstacle for employment . According to the World Bank, Greece now belongs thanks to these policies to the 12 countries with legalized employment equality between the sexes.

We are investing in modern vocational education and its coupling with companies, with 200 new curricula and standard vocational high schools across the country, so that EPAL and IEK stop being the offspring of public education.

We are reforming the system of providing skills and training to employees with new mechanisms for evaluating training providers and the results they bring to job acquisition.

We offer 500,000 employees new, certified skills in modern digital and green professions.

We are implementing the digital work card from the summer, first of all the big companies, in order to stop the circumvention of the hours and the unpaid overtime.

We implement special programs to enhance diversity and combat discrimination and abuse of power in the workplace. “The new labor inspectorate is being built from the ground up as an independent authority now, to play its complex role more effectively.”

The aim of the above and many more related initiatives that are part of the “Greece 2.0” plan and concern the labor market, he concludes, is “to offer not only more but primarily better jobs. We have achieved this with 200,000 new jobs in pandemic conditions and the global energy crisis, reducing unemployment at the fastest pace in Europe.

After all, only economic policy that manages to add new and better jobs to the economy can be considered a progressive, effective and fair policy that emancipates and empowers citizens. And we serve her. “Happy Labor Day!”, The Minister of State concludes in his article.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ