Labor Ministry

There was a surplus in the Labor Ministry's Ergani hirings register at the end of March, despite the increase to the minimum wage and the abolition of the subminimum salary. The impact of tourism and seasonal employment, combined with the domination of flexible forms of labor, led to a rebound in the market after a rather poor start to the year.

The government has drafted legislation that will make it harder for employers to sack members of their staff, with a bill that will reportedly be put to lawmakers for a vote as part of a package of laws centered on a more favorable payment program for state debtors.

Food delivery and courier workers take to the streets of Athens on their way to the Labor Ministry during Thursday's 24-hour strike to demand better working conditions. Strikers are calling on employers to provide scooters to workers, who are not only obliged to use their own vehicles but also, frequently, to pay for gas and cover their own insurance.

The allegations that Greek authorities removed thousands of outstanding pension claims from the Labor Ministry registry in a bid to paint a brighter fiscal picture is certainly a sign of brutal disregard for citizens' rights. It's also a moral issue for the country, which has ultimately paid a heavy toll for the past misdeeds of those in government.

A prominent conservative MP and former minister, Yiannis Vroutsis, on Tuesday called on the Labor Ministry to respond to allegations that its online system for Single Social Security Fund (EFKA) pension applications was tampered with and thousands of applications removed.

Manpower Organization (OAED) data for February showed an annual increase in citizens registered as unemployed for one more month, despite the increase in private sector jobs.

Pensioners are having to turn to the Ombudsman and the courts to find out what the correct amount of their monthly payout should be, following delays from the Labor Ministry in issuing the necessary notices specifying the amount due to each pensioner as of January 1, 2019, after the new calculation system was introduced.

Private-sector salaried employment increased by 27,840 jobs in February, a month which not only saw a rise in the minimum wage but also the growth of part-time positions compared to full-time work, figures from the Labor Ministry's Ergani hirings database showed on Friday.

Members of the public hospital workers' union march past the Hilton hotel in Athens on Thursday, in a rally that started at Mavili Square and ended at the Labor Ministry on central Stadiou Street, causing a traffic jam on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue.

The union of Greece's public hospital workers, POEDIN, on Tuesday called a 24-hour strike for Thursday in protest at the looming loss of dozens of patient transporters.

POEDIN is reacting to a government decision outlined in an Interior Ministry draft bill to transfer to local authorities 526 former school guards who had been assigned to help at understaffed public hospitals.