SEV calls for labor inspection system reforms
The Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) is calling for the reorganization of the labor market’s monitoring mechanisms and the penalty system, along with the reduction of non-salary obligations (taxes, social security contributions etc), in order to help combat undeclared or partly declared labor.
A recent report on undeclared labor in Greece estimated it at 21.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product this year, which is almost twice the average rate of developed countries, even if it appears significantly reduced in recent years.
The phenomenon continues to generate obstacles to the transformation of production in the Greek economy. A key contributor to its enormity is, according to SEV, the “relatively high degree of self employment and the large rate of small and very small enterprises.”
Besides changes to the inspection and penalty systems, SEV is also calling for the full utilization of an integrated online system for monitoring the labor market, the organizational and economic autonomy of the Labor Inspection Squad (SEPE), the obligatory payment of salaries and social security contributions via banks for all enterprises, a clear description of SEPE’s duties, and the strengthening of transparency.
