Pay rise won’t cut it to lure Greek professionals home

A pay rise alone is not enough to lure back scientists who emigrated during the financial crisis of the previous decade, according to the majority of participants of a conference on the challenges and opportunities for individuals, society and the economy by the National Documentation Center. 

“We promise our children a future that does not exist,” said Deputy Labor Minister Panos Tsakloglou, meaning that per scientific field the positions at universities are distributed irrationally in relation to the needs of the labor market. Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) data show that 5.9-8% of Greek graduates left the country between 2008 and 2017 and remain abroad.

“The government has already introduced tax incentives aimed at the return of Greek scientists from abroad,” he said, but noted that it should also seek “to increase productivity, improve wages, strengthen the welfare state, improve the health system and education.”