Labor Ministry

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a verdict on Wednesday on the case of Greek cement producer AGET Iraklis that indirectly called for a change in the law on group layoffs in Greece.

The OIYE federation representing private sector workers, particularly in retail, on Tuesday issued an announcement saying that no stores should open on Tuesday, January 2.

Officers of the counterterrorism department of the Greek Police (ELAS) on Monday were seeking to determine whether the perpetrators of a thwarted bomb attack on the central Athens offices of the Labor Ministry belong to guerrilla groups which have claimed responsibility for recent blasts in the capital.

Last month was the worst November of the last five years in terms of employment, as the Labor Ministry's Ergani database recorded 37,667 more job departures than hirings.

This compares with 24,674 jobs lost in November last year, traditionally a negative month due to the end of the tourism season. In total, the labor market diminished by 120,477 jobs in October and November.

Salaried employment in the private sector slowed down in November, data released by the Labor Ministry's Ergani system showed on Monday.

The system showed that 157,385 people were hired in November and those who left their jobs came to 195,052 people, out of whom 66,978 people left their positions voluntarily, while 128,074 were laid off or did not renew their contracts.

An explosive device was discovered in a backpack outside the entrance of the Labor Ministry on Stadiou street, central Athens early on Monday, after an anonymous call to Efymerida ton Syntakton newspaper at 1.20 a.m. warned that a bomb would go off after 40 minutes.

Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene and subsequently detonated the device in three controlled explosions.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is prepared to make further concessions to Greece's creditors in tough negotiations that are currently under way to ensure that there is no delay in launching crucial talks on relief for the country's debt burden, Kathimerini understands.

The new Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) will be an Athens-heavy superfund focusing on contribution collection and inspections for the social security system rather than serving the more than 6 million people around the country registered in it, according to the organizational charter planned by the Labor Ministry.

Worries are growing over the course of the local labor market, as salaried employment fell by a considerable 82,810 jobs last month, hitting a 15-year low. And this during a period when six out of the every 10 jobs created belong to the flexible-labor categories.

Senior citizens staged an anti-government rally in Athens Thursday to protest a new round of pension cuts - estimated at over 1 billion euros by 2019 - under the country's bailout program. Thousands of protesters marched to the Labor Ministry and the Parliament, burning copies of a letter sent to them by Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos explaining the pension changes.