Union: Pay hikes serve to provoke
As Greece’s social security system struggles to stay afloat, the country’s main private sector union group, GSEE, slammed a government decison to double the salaries of those running the pension funds. Employment Minister Fani Palli-Petralia recently approved a 100 percent hike to salaries paid to the chairmen and governors of pension funds on the grounds that recent changes to the system will result in an extra workload and require them to work on a full-time basis. The head of IKA-TEAM and OAEE, two of the country’s largest funds, each had their monthly salaries doubled to 7,000 and 6,000 euros respectively, according to business website Naftemporiki.gr. GSEE, the General Confederation of Greek Labor, said the government’s goals should be to improve the operations of the funds and reduce their massive deficits rather than give «provocative salary increases to government-appointed heads.»
