ECONOMY

Collective labor contracts becoming thing of the past

Just 11 collective labor agreements are currently in effect, covering between 7 and 10 percent of Greece’s salaried workforce, compared to 161 such contracts representing almost all of Greece private sector workers on a nationwide level in 2008, the National Institute has said.

The National Institute, which operates under the supervision of the Labor Ministry, noted that the institution of collective contracts signed on a national, sectoral or professional level are all but obsolete.

Labor Ministry data, meanwhile, show that those contracts which do remain valid foresee significant reductions to salaries, to say nothing of any bonuses or special salaries that used to be the norm in the past. Furthermore these protected salaries do not concern all employees in the sector they relate to, but only members of the unions represented in the signing of the collective labor agreement, which further reduces its power.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.