Parliament approves bill to expedite rise of minimum wage

Greek parliament on Thursday voted to speed up a process to increase the minimum wage next year – a pledge heralded by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in late August.

The amendment outlines a timeline for consultations between the government, employers and unions on what the rise will be, which will be completed by the end of the year. The new minimum wage will come into force in January 2019.

The bill was approved by the ruling coalition of SYRIZA and the Independent Greeks (ANEL), New Democracy, the Democratic Coalition and the Union of Centrists, while Potami and Golden Dawn voted “present.” The Communist Party voted it down.

“Today is an important day for the world of labor and our government because we are taking an important step to implement the top commitment we undertook towards the large social majority,” Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou said in parliament.

“This commitment is no other than the increase of available income, the rise of the wages of employees,” she added.