Everyone's goal is that we must come to a positive result on the issue of Automatic Price Adjustment (ATA), the Minister of Labor and Social Insurance Yiannis Panagiotou said on Monday, stressing however that a positive result cannot completely satisfy any side.
Continuing the separate contacts with the social partners, Mr. Panagiotou met in the morning with a delegation of the Greek Greek Orthodox Church, whose President, Iosif Anastasiou, stated that the issue cannot remain pending for a long time, but “it should be settled” in order to ensure both labor peace and the stability of the economy”.
In his statements, Panagiotou said that "the goal of all of us is normality and stability, something that can be achieved through a commonly accepted agreement».
He also said that the meeting with the EEC took place in a constructive atmosphere "because the goal of reaching an agreement is common and we are optimistic that through the seriousness and readiness of all social partners, as this has been recorded over time, we will have a positive result , which in reality cannot completely satisfy any side but must also be in line with the state's budget, with the potential of the economy, as well as with the needs of the workers'.
In question if he will submit a mediation proposal within the week, Mr. Panagiotou said that no timetable has been set for submitting a proposal.
"Our wish is for this mediation effort to bear fruit and the goal is to reach a conclusion as soon as possible", he added. p> —————-
For his part, Mr. Anastasiou said that the position of the trade union movement and by extension the EEC has been clarified many times, adding that we consider that the framework, which is defined by the transitional agreement of 2017, includes all the parameters and certainly the basic parameter, which provides that any regulation of ATA should be done on the basis of its philosophy, which implies that the market value of wages should be fully guaranteed.
"You know that the workers are going through a very difficult time, it is a very difficult time because of the high inflation, this issue should not remain pending for a long time, it should be regulated to ensure labor peace as well, but and the stability of the economy, which is necessary,” he added.
Asked if the union's proposal for the gradual restoration of ATA is the last line of retreat for the trade unions, Mr. Anastasiou said that he considers that the proposal of the trade union movement "facilitates as much as possible any Minister who wishes to have a substantial role and intervention in relation to the restructuring of ATA, so that we can reach a substantial agreement".
"The gradual restoration from on the one hand, it absolutely guarantees the philosophy of the institution and on the other hand, it also facilitates businesses, since the ATA will not be paid 100% immediately, but will be paid gradually. Therefore, we consider that, yes, it is a balanced proposal which should be taken seriously by the other side and on the basis of which we can absolutely build a very good agreement regarding the regulation of ATA, he concluded.
Source: KYPE
