One in Four Greek Businesses Violate Minimum Wage Law

While the government instituted an additional 40-euro pay rise to employees earning the minimum wage in Greece last April, roughly one in four businesses have not paid the mandated pay increase, according to the independent authority for labor inspection.

The independent authority said those impacted also concerned workers who have secured seniority benefits (three-year increments) and should have received increases ranging from 10% to 30%.

The Greek government had mandated that from April 1st, workers receiving the minimum wage would be eligible to earn 830 euros net, but 24.44% of the businesses obligated to pay the respective rises had not adhered to the new stipulation.

According to inspections by the labor inspection authority in 1,170 companies from May to the present, 286 have not complied with the current legislation linked to the rise in the minimum wage in Greece. The businesses that were inspected employ a total of 8,518 workers, of whom 1,949 did not receive the legally mandated increases.

As noted in the relevant announcement from the independent authority, the inspections were targeted, utilizing data from the ERGANI information system by utilizing specific reports for salary adjustment forms based on the relevant legal stipulations. “If we relate the employer violation rates found during the inspections to the total number of workers paid the minimum wage (approximately 600,000 individuals), this would mean that at least 138,000 workers did not receive the increases they are entitled to,” the announcement said.

Source: tovima.com