Hike in minimum wage comes into force
An 11 percent increase in Greece’s minimum wage and the abolition of the so-called subminimum wage paid to young employees which were announced by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras during a cabinet meeting early this week came into effect on Friday.
“Today, a new era begins for the country’s young employees. An era with more rights, more dignity,” Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou told state-run news agency ANA-MPA.
“With the increase in the minimum wage and the abolition of the sub-minimum wage, we restore part of what austerity policies deprived employees of. And this is an act of justice.”
The hike, the first such wage change in the country in almost a decade, raises the minimum wage from 586 to 650 euros.
The measure, however, has generated concern on the part of Greece's creditors during their recent visit to the country to assess its post-bailout compliance.
A session of the Euro Working Group on Thursday reportedly heard that the increase much higher than what experts had advised.
