Effie Achtsioglou

A planned increase in the minimum wage on January 15 will affect more than 1.5 million employees, but also unemployed people receiving benefits based on its level.

Dozens of members of the union representing municipal workers, POE-OTA, forced themselves into the Labor Ministry headquarters in central Athens on Monday morning, demanding a meeting with Minister Effie Achtsioglou.

Labor and Social Security Minister Effie Achtsioglou admitted on Tuesday that the government's ratification of the so-called Katrougalos law in 2016, named after the then labor minister, constituted an "institutional and political" reform of the pension system, though not in full compliance with a verdict from the Council of State deeming the 2012 pension cuts as being in violation of the Const

Greek parliament on Thursday voted to speed up a process to increase the minimum wage next year - a pledge heralded by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in late August.

The public consultation process concerning the new level of the minimum wage is expected to begin within this month and be completed by end-December, while the requisite ministerial decision for that purpose will be issued in the latter half of January 2019.

This is according to the new timetable included in a law amendment submitted by Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou on Wednesday.

From January 2019, and for the following three years, some 200,000 scientists and freelance professionals will begin paying social security contributions toward their auxiliary pensions and their retirement lump sums, which have been pending for almost two years.

The government views the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) that begins this weekend as an opportunity to get the message out that it can now draft policy without the external constraints imposed by the country's bailout programs.

Labor Minister Effie Achtsioglou on Wednesday expressed optimism that the planned pension cuts foreseen in the prior actions approved by Greece's Parliament as part of its third and final bailout will not be necessary, adding that there is political support on a European level for the move. 

The holding of the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) in Attica Bank remains strong, at 46.16 percent, while the second biggest stakeholder in Greece's fifth largest lender is now the Engineers' Fund (TMEDE), with a 32.5 percent share.

The government is hoping that surpluses at the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA) will allow the non-implementation of pre-legislated pension cuts on January 1 next year.