Socialism

Parliament's Budget Office (PBO) said on Thursday in its report for the fourth quarter of 2019 that the achievement of the primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product is secured, as the Greek economy has proved its resilience despite last year's significant tax breaks.

The increase in hirings of private sector salary workers has started to slow, generating fears of a reversal of the rise in employment.

Negotiations on setting the new minimum wage in the private sector   are to begin in the coming days.

The government is entering the talks with trade unions having pledged in its electoral campaign last year to support wage hikes in 2020 that are double the country's growth rate.

The process for the adjustment of the minimum wage will begin in the last 10 days of February, and according to law it must be completed within four months. Discussions have already started within the government, with spokesman Stelios Petsas reiterating New Democracy's election pledge for an increase up to the level of 703 euros per month in the next three years.

As of today, the minimum wage will be BGN 610. Its amount increased by BGN 50 or 8.9% compared to last year.

Since the beginning of the year the hourly wage for work has increased. It is now BGN 3.66 per hour. The minimum unemployment benefit remains BGN 9 per day and the maximum - BGN 74 per day.

The year of 2020's monthly minimum wage in Turkey has been raised to 2,324 Turkish Liras ($391) by a 15-member commission led by Family, Labor and Social Services Minister Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk.

"The expected year-end inflation rate was forecast to be 12 percent," Selçuk said.

The minimum wage will rise to BGN 610 from January 1, 2020. Its amount will increase by BGN 50 or 8.9% compared to this year, the government decided.

The economic development, sustainable GDP growth, an increase in the number of employees and a reported increase in the national average wage contribute to the increase in the minimum wage to BGN 610.

The minimum wage per economy might increase 7.2%, said Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Tuesday, in a post on the Government's Facebook page. He specifies that, this week, the proposals for the formula for calculating the minimum wage will be finalized. "This week, we will finalize the proposals for the minimum wage calculation formula.

The state budget continued on its course toward a primary surplus overrun in October too, with Finance Ministry officials estimating this will top the 346 million euros estimated in next year's budget and get quite close to 400 million instead for the whole of 2019.

This is the latest in a series of articles on the legacy of the fall of the Iron Curtain 30 years ago. See more.