Collective Bargaining

The new Job Support Scheme will start on 1 November and replace the existing Job Retention Scheme which was introduced in March 2020. Under the new scheme, the government will cover 22% of pay for workers facing short-time work in companies where business is slow, for the next six months. The employer will pay 55%, meaning that the worker will receive 77% of their usual monthly wage in total. The support package is designed to help fend off mass unemployment in the wake of the new restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus.

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The Government has introduced a tax rule for 2020 that makes in-kind benefits more attractive to employers. More and more employers are using in-kind employee welfare benefits as an opportunity both for the business and the employees. These benefits are goods and services provided by the employer to employees on top of their normal salary to support their purchasing power and to improve the quality of their private and family life.

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The Social Affairs and Employment Inspectorate received over 3,500 complaints and reports about the lack of a safe and healthy work environment during the Coronavirus crisis. Many of the complaints involved a lack of social distancing at work. Other issues were about employers not allowing working from home, despite employees being able to do it.

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Cross-Channel ferry crossings were disrupted due to strike action in French ports. The port of Calais, a hub for cross-Channel trade and travel, was shut by striking workers who want higher pay to deal with Brexit-related complications and coronavirus rules.

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Hospital doctors met in front of the Ministry of Health in Athens for what their federation called “tragic shortages in staff and infrastructure”. The Federation of Hospital Doctor Associations of Greece (OENGE) said that “67% of ICU beds set aside for COVID-19 are already occupied and the future ahead promises to be tougher.”

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EU funds have led to an increase in wages by 8.2% for the period 2014 to mid-2020. For the same period, the country's GDP grew by 7.7% compared to the baseline scenario without EU funds, according to an analysis by the Ministry of Finance on the effect of EU funds on the national economy.

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The government has agreed on rules for introducing short-time work. Under these new regulations employees will get 70% percent of their net salaries – if they do not exceed the national average wage – for hours not worked. Employers, for their part, will have to pay social security contributions on 70% of gross earnings, and health insurance on the basis of the entire current salary. Both trade unions and employers are against the proposals. The unions demand greater financial input from the state, and employers resist the idea of paying social security contributions for time not worked.

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The Government has proposed further measures within the framework of a tenth additional amending budget for 2020. Among other things, increased funding is proposed in order to enable a new form of financial support to sole traders (one-person-businesses) along with an extension of the reorientation support to companies, increased financial support to sport and cultural activities and an extension of certain temporary measures in the field of sickness insurance.

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The Government has submitted a bill to Parliament to increase the minimum wage to €623 gross per month, up from the current €580. With this latest 7.5% rise the hourly minimum wage would reach €3.58 next year, compared to €3.33 today. The new minimum wage, which would represent 57% of last year’s average wage, would come into force on January 1, 2021.

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According to data from the analysis on regional economic asymmetry for the second quarter of 2020, compiled by the State Statistical Office, the highest salaries are recorded in Belgrade and are 124% of the national average. The capital also has the highest employment rate, 7% above the national average.

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