Minimum wage to rise by 11%, sub-minimum to be abolished

According to a source in the government, Labour Minister Effie Achtsioglou could sign the pertinent ministerial decision as early as Tuesday.

The new minimum wage, set at 650 euros, will be effective as of February 1, and will be applied to workers of all ages, thus leading to the abolition of the "sub-minimum" wage which was currently in place for young people under 25 years old.

Addressing the cabinet, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that 600,000 members of the Greek workforce will benefit from the two measures, while another 280,000 workers will be indirectly affected since the hike will result in the simultaneous increase of more than 20 different types of benefits linked with the minimum income.

Furthermore, Tsipras noted that increasing the miminum wage and doing away with the sub-minimum wage, along with restoring collective labour bargaining already in September, will have a positive impact on approximately 1 million workers.

However, speaking to shopowners and members of the merchants association, New Greek TV was told by most that these increases will lead to lay offs, as most employers will not be able to meet the incresing costs. For employers the cost rises not just because of the rise in minimum wage, but mostly because of the benefits and social security paymets that also rise as a percentage of wages. So although the government is trawling for votes among the unskilled, it is actually casting more people into the uncertainty of part time employment, or even worse, full time unemployment.