Achtsioglou: EP members have pledged to help Greece restore collective bargaining

In a statement Thursday, labor minister Efi Achtsioglou said that all European Parliament deputies she met with during her two-day Brussels visit support the Greek government’s desire to restore labor rights.
“We presented the positions of the Greek government for the need to restore collective bargaining in the country. All the members of the European Parliament with whom I met strongly support the position of the Greek government for the country’s return to what constitutes the European acquis on labor rights,” said Achtsioglou, who added that the round of meetings she had in Brussels were with important representatives of the European Parliament.
According to Achtsioglou, the European Members of Parliament she met with expressed their belief that Greece should not be excluded from the European social model simply because the country is implementing a reform program.
“The members of the European Parliament, who cover a wide range of political forces, said they will do everything in their power to exert the necessary pressure on a political level to restore collective bargaining in the country,” she said.
Regarding the December 5 Eurogroup meeting, the labor minister anticipates an agreement “in principle” on all issues relating to the second review, and expressed the belief that talks on labor rights will be crucial at the meeting because it is a “deeply political issue” that cannot be resolved on a technocratic level.