Bill being prepared for labor, pension loose ends
The Labor Ministry is expected to table a bill toward the end of the month that aims to tie up a number of loose ends related to labor and pension legislation.
The draft law will not be linked to any commitments Greece has as part of its bailout agreement with its international lenders ahead of the next program review, which is due to begin the autumn.
One of the most important changes that the bill will seek to introduce is to no longer make it necessary for engineers and lawyers to pay pension contributions when they are not in work. Currently, they are obliged to pay even when they are unemployed.
The draft legislation, which is being overseen by Labor Minister Efi Achtsioglou, will also contain provisions related to unpaid and undeclared work. It will become compulsory, for example, for employers to declare any overtime that their staff do on the online Ergani system. Companies found to be flouting the rules could be shut down for up to three days.
Firms that break the law will also be banned for a certain time from applying for European Union-funded programs and state contracts.
