Minimum wage is not enough
Greeks receiving the minimum wage will have to work for more than 60 hours per week in order to keep a three- or four-member family above the poverty level, according to a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the minimum salary in its member-states.
For a family of two children and one or two parents, with only one minimum wage collected, the person with a job will need to work between 60 and 70 hours per week to make ends meet.
The OECD uses an index based on the ratio between the minimum salary and the average salary in each country, and in Greece that stands at 45 percent. This puts this country close to the member-states with the lowest rate (between 35 and 40 percent) such as the United States, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Estonia and Japan.
The study stresses the need for governments to combine their minimum salary policies with tax and benefit strategies, and to constantly adjust the minimum payments depending on financial conditions and changes to the labor market.
