Gov’t spokesman heralds wage increases after bailout exit

Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos indicated in comments on Sunday that the leftist-led administration was planning wage hikes as part of a series of measures to counter the impact of austerity after Greece exits its third bailout in August.

"Preparations for the day after have already begun," he told the news website Dikaiologitika News.

"The government's goal is that, immediately after August 21, the official expiry of the program, that all the final details of a series of interventions in favor of the majority of society are finalized," he said.

The government's priority is that the end of the bailout era is translated into "practical improvements in the daily lives of citizens," he said.

Immediate goals include the restoration of collective bargaining rights for workers and increases in salaries for civil servants who have seen their wages slashed over the years.

The raising of the minimum wage is also in the cards, he said. 

Asked to comment on claims by the main conservative opposition New Democracy that the government has effectively committed Greece to a "fourth memorandum" due to the additional austerity measures due to come into effect over the next couple of years, Tzanakopoulos accused ND of trying to sabotage the country and its prospects.

ND has been leading leftist SYRIZA in most recent opinion polls by around 10 percentage points.