Greece's minimum wage finally set to increase as of January 2019

Greece on Wednesday submitted a draft amendment to parliament to speed up the process to raise the minimum wage for the first time since 2009.

The Labor Ministry tabled in parliament an amendment increasing the basic wage.
The draft bill sets out a time frame for the procedures to commence in the last ten days of September and wind up in the second half of January.

Earlier this week, Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity Minister Efi Achtsioglou said that the hike to the basic wage will require four months to be completed.

Minimum wage in Greece will be increased as of 1st of January 2019, Labor, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity Minister Efi Achtsioglou announced at the beginning of the week.

The move comes a month after Greece emerged from its third international bailout.

The minimum wage was slashed by up to 32 percent to roughly 500 euros during the crisis as part of measures given by the country’s lenders to make the labor market more flexible and the economy more competitive.

The increase to the minimum wage will be concluded by January 2019, following consultations between employers, unions and the government, according to the draft law.

Greece had told its European lenders that it would reinstate the minimum wage process after the end of the bailout.

It added that “the immediate activation of the relevant process is imperative” and the minimum wage should reflect the country’s economic improvement.