The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Niki Kerameos, referred to the expansion of the Digital Work Card in tourism and catering as of today, in an interview she gave to the “Mismatched” program of SKAI.
As he explained, the goal is to record the actual time the employee works in order to be paid for that time.
“It is a measure that comes to protect the rights of the employee and we want to protect every employee wherever he is.”
The digital job card
The minister clarified that from today the pilot application of the measure begins in hotels, accommodations, camping sites, catering facilities, cafes, restaurants, etc. noting that a reasonable period of time will be given to the pilot application of the measure in order to record issues that may exist, but also to enable businesses and employees to familiarize themselves with the measure.
When asked about the reform of the unemployment benefit, she explained that “its philosophy has not changed in the last 70 years, it is flat, that is, whether you have declared that you work part-time or full-time, regardless of the salary you receive, how much you pay unemployment contribution” clarifying that henceforth there will be a change of philosophy on the issue.
“We have designed a new pilot program that aims to change the philosophy on two main axes: the first axis is to make the unemployment benefit fairer, to have greater fairness in how it is given, how much it is and take into account the person’s insurance history. The second axis has to do with the support of our vulnerable fellow citizens. When someone is fired, at that difficult time, in the first months when he needs even more support, the allowance is higher and then it is reduced in order to encourage him to find work,” said the Minister and added: “The state must support the unemployed fellow citizens, but we want to motivate people to find work. The perspective of a person or a family is different when they have an income and another when they depend on state benefits.”
Regarding the measures announced by the Prime Minister at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Ms. Kerameos noted that they are moving along two axes: “The first set of regulations has to do with the working environment, insurance contributions are included there and the second has to do with pensions ».
Insurance contributions
As far as labor is concerned, he recalled that the initial announcement referred to the reduction of insurance contributions by 0.5% and doubled to 1%, which means that during the period 2019 – 2026 a total reduction of 5.5 percentage points is recorded, while in 2027 they are expected to decrease further by 0.5%.
Mrs. Kerameos explained that by reducing labor costs, i.e. the money paid to the state for each employment position, we stimulate employment and give more incentives to create more jobs.
He even emphasized that in previous years the reduction of insurance contributions contributed to the increase of jobs that reached 500,000.
“So it is a measure that has a reflection on the work map of the country, on the reduction of unemployment, on people finding work,” he said.
Referring more specifically to the reduction of unemployment, he noted that the relative index fell below 10% for the first time in 15 years, underlining, however, that this is not a reason for complacency, as we have now entered the hard core of unemployment. “We are going to focus more on categories that we see have greater room for improvement: the young generation, women, the disabled and pensioners,” he noted.
The minimum wage
At the same time, Ms. Kerameos described as very important the increase in the minimum wage, which started from 650 euros, increased to 830 euros with the aim of rising to 950 by 2027. She also announced that in January the consultation will begin with the participation of all of the social partners for a new increase in the minimum wage, which will be announced in April 2025.
“We have had an increase in recent years that reaches 28%,” he said, adding that “all these are measures aimed at supporting the worker and giving him more disposable income.”
Regarding the increases in pensions, the minister explained that they will appear in the accounts of the beneficiaries from the end of December and their final amount will be formed using an algorithm and will depend on the growth and inflation of that period. “It is estimated that this will vary between 2.2 and 2.5% and concerns more than 2,000,000 pensioners,” he stressed.
Finally, for pensioners who receive a pension of up to 1,600 euros and maintain a personal difference, he announced that they will receive an extraordinary aid of up to 200 euros, with the exact amount depending on the amount of the pension.
SOURCE: ot.gr
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