"For years I have been in favor of the institution and that the institution should continue to exist because it faces some of the problems, but it should be constantly revised."
The Minister of Finance Makis Keraynos clarified his position in favor of the institution of Automatic Price Adjustment (ATA), stressing at the same time that the institution should be constantly reviewed when there are different facts in the economic environment, for the good of society, but also of those who benefit from the ATA.
Keravnos's statements were made after a meeting with the new President of DEOK, Stelios Christodoulou, who for his part said that issues such as productivity and competitiveness, concern the discussions on collective agreements and are considered separate from the ATA institution.
"For years I have been in favor of the institution and that the institution should continue to exist because it faces some of the problems, but it should be constantly revised, when there are different facts in the environment for the good of society and for the good of those who benefit from the institution of the ATA", stated the Minister of the Interior, when asked to comment on the reactions of the trade unions, after his reports on the matter after the meeting with the leadership of the KEBE.
Saying that both he and the Christodoulidis Government supported the institution of ATA in practice, the Minister of Finance stressed however that "from then on, the data in the economy is constantly changing, we are integrated into the European process and we should consider other issues in any of our decisions and data, such as the productivity and competitiveness of the economy, but also the widening of the gap between incomes".
"Therefore, weighing these parameters, I believe our decisions should be more rational for the good of society," he added.
For his part, Mr. Christodoulou said that DEOK's position is that the ATA institution should be expanded to cover as many workers as possible, since the percentage of workers who currently receive it is "quite limited".
As he said, positions such as increasing productivity or positions such as sustainability, are facts, which are taken into account when discussing collective agreements and regarding wage increases. He noted that the two issues are separate, since, as he mentioned, "other things are taken into account by the collective agreements and other things are taken into account by the ATA".
He finally mentioned that there is a transitional agreement between the social partners for ATA, they will enter into a dialogue in a few months so that by the middle of next year there will be a complete conclusion.
In addition, at the meeting, the DEEK submitted proposals on current issues concerning society and workers such as punctuality, profiteering, tax reform, the extension of collective agreements, the provision of incentives to businesses for the employment of new people and the adoption of new technologies, the circular economy and green growth and the provision of incentives to promote young entrepreneurship.
"We hope that the Ministry of Finance will take into account the positions we conveyed and include in the governance plan as fair measures as possible so that we can hand over to our children a fairer and healthier society than it was before," he concluded.
Mr. Keravnos thanked DEOK for its recommendations, adding that the Government will take them seriously.
"I have assured that our Government is a human-centered Government, which also cares for the middle class, for the improvement of the quality of life and the economic data of the country and especially of the middle classes", concluded the Minister of Finance.