Salaries: the Prime Minister announced an average salary of 1,500 euros by 2027

The government believes it is possible to bring average wages to €1,500 by the end of the four-year period, but the labor market picture shows that this cannot be achieved without the “reintroduction” of sectoral employment contracts.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis, speaking at ΣΕΦ, reaffirmed the government’s average wage target, insisting it could be achieved by 2027. It is noted that currently the average gross salary is 1038.23 euros.

Industry labor agreements
The destruction of sectoral labor agreements led to a decrease in average wages. This is evidenced by the fact that of the few industry agreements signed in 2022, and there were twenty-four in total, only nine included wage increases. In the rest, wages remained unchanged compared to previous contracts.

And this at a time when, according to Eurostat, Greeks work 41 hours a week – more than all other Europeans – and are paid less. The government’s announced “return of wages” and average wages for the next four years implies an adjustment not only to the minimum, but also to other wages that have not yet “passed on” the increases provided for by the thresholds.

The minimum wage after the last increase may have returned to the pre-crisis level, but to the so-called “average salary” raising wage thresholds had little impact. Typically, 80% of workers saw “no change” in their wages, despite consistent increases in the minimum wage.

To achieve this goal, as well as to bring the average salary to 1,500 euros, it is necessary to restore the legal regime (abolished by the memoranda) that applied to collective agreements and agreements.

Work time
Eurostat data shows that Greeks work longer hours than other Europeans. Specifically, they worked 41 hours per week in 2022, compared to the national average. EU, amounting to 37.5 hours. After the Greeks come the Poles – 40.4 hours, Romanians and Bulgarians – 40.2 hours per week. The Dutch (33.2), Germans (35.3) and Danes (35.4) work the least hours.

Moreover, according to the NFKA, the average gross earnings in the private sector are only 1,038 euros. Moreover, every fourth worker (26%), namely 640,718 out of 2,455,046 employed in the private sector, works part-time and receives an average salary 430.81 euros, which in “pure” form corresponds to approximately 346 euros.

Finally, in terms of average wages, the OECD ranks Greece third from the bottom out of 38 countries, and in terms of prices for food and everyday goods, it ranks in the top ten.

PS Taking into account the current level of inflation, fierce sanctions against the Russian Federation and the US policy towards the “EU cash cow”, by 2027 the euro will become so cheaper that in terms of purchasing power, 1500 euros will correspond to the current 1000 or 600 euros in 2019. So no contracts will be needed…

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