Troika wants more layoffs

The Greek government is working on changes to the law on boundaries in collective layoffs with orders from troika and the Labor ministry is studying the legal framework looking for the right balance to lift the restrictions.

According to the "Eleftheros Typos" newspaper the options on the table are:

 

-  increasing the levels of layoffs to enable businesses, when it comes to servicing restructuring needs, exceed the number prescribed by law without being caught by the prohibition on collective layoffs. Rather than having a threshold of 5% of layoffs they are allowed each month, this figure will be doubled to 10% and more than 50 people for special occasions

-  to amend the law in the part providing that the approval of layoffs could be decided at government level and with criteria that take into account the care of a part of the staff, depending on the plan submitted by each business

The issue of changes came indirectly from the IMF at a meeting held at the ministry of Labor in April.

The regulations so far

Limits beyond which layoffs are considered collective and must be approved by the ministry of Labor are:

 

-    up to 6 workers per month for businesses or establishments employing 20 to 150 people

-     5% of staff each month and up to 30 employees for businesses employing more than 150 people