2023-12-19 17:05:01
The Dean of the Parliament and Member of Parliament for Dodecanese Vassilis A. Ypsilantis, in his speech yesterday in the plenary session of the Parliament of the Greeks on the s/n of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security “Professional insurance reform, rationalization of insurance legislation, pension arrangements, appointment and recruitment system of the teachers of the public employment service and other provisions”, among other things, he expressed his satisfaction, saying that he sees a request, which he had formulated with his interventions, being implemented in this bill and in article 181 for the sporadic employment of the regularly subsidized unemployed . In particular, he stated that “The proposed regulation aims at the uninterrupted payment of benefits as well as at combating possibly undeclared work and today I feel great satisfaction that our request is taking shape. That is why I must publicly thank the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Labour. »
The deputy also praised the provision of article 122, which refers to the one-off grant to the clergy and restores another distortion caused by the Katrougalou Law, but also for the increase of the limit of debt of insured persons for the retirement registration, for the pensioners’ ability to work without any reduction for the retirement of the minor children of a deceased pensioner.
The most important points of Vassilis A. Ypsilanti’s speech are the following:
“Ladies and Gentlemen of Parliament,
From the provisions of the Labor Ministry’s pending bill, a reform with a deep social footprint emerges that takes into account the needs of both retirees and new insured and future retirees, while at the same time regulating issues of vulnerable social groups.
I am very happy to see a request that I had formulated with my interventions both in the Ministry and publicly through this step of the Parliament being implemented today with article 181 for the sporadic employment of the regularly subsidized unemployed. It is henceforth provided that the subsidy will not be suspended in case of employment with fixed-term one-day employment contracts, provided that this does not cumulatively exceed three days per week and twelve per month. As I pointed out earlier, one-day contracts are quite common in the activities of the tourism food industry. The proposed arrangement is aimed at the seamless payment of benefits as well as combating possibly undeclared work and today I feel great satisfaction that a request is taking shape. That is why I must publicly thank the Minister and the Deputy Minister of Labour.
Article 114 which refers to the employment of pensioners comes to correct an injustice of years, which had been passed by the Syriza Government with Law 4387/2016 known as the Katrougalou Law.
With the Katrougalou Law, employed pensioners were paid pensions reduced by 60% for as long as they chose to continue working. This choice of pensioners was treated by the SYRIZA Government as a punishment with the penalty of cutting their pension by 60%!
With Law 4670/2020, known as the Vroutsi Law, our government improved this distortion of the Katrougalos Law, and thus the amount of the withheld pension was reduced to 30%, from 60%. Today, the Government completely abolishes this withholding and now the pensioner is not treated punitively but with respect for the efforts of a lifetime by paying the insurance contributions during the working life receiving the entire pension regardless of whether he works or not. The benefit is twofold: on the one hand, the income of pensioners is enhanced and on the other hand legal and declared work is promoted. At the same time, a non-remunerative resource is established in favor of the e-EFKA, which for employed pensioners is 10% of the insurable earnings, while for self-employed pensioners it is 50% of the selected insurance class.
Furthermore, article 115 allows the retirement of self-employed people with overdue insurance contributions to the e-EFKA up to €30,000 from €20,000 currently in force and up to €10,000 for farmers from €6,000 currently in force, with pre-defined criteria for determining actual inability to pay . A solution is given to an issue faced by thousands of prospective pensioners, who had debts to EFKA, especially to the former OAEE, and could not get a pension. Now, the debt limit is widened, but there are specific eligibility criteria that are set, precisely so that there is no circumvention of the provision by systematic defaulters. Therefore, many of our people will have, after the Katrougalou Law that held them hostage, the possibility to be freed and retire.
Allow me to highlight the provision of Article 122, which refers to the lump-sum grant to the clergy and restores yet another distortion brought about by the Katrougalou Law.
With the proposed regulation, it is possible to grant a lump sum to the clergy of the former Welfare Fund of the Orthodox Clergy of Greece, who, while they have reached the age of 70, continue to exercise their function and choose not to receive the main pension to which they are entitled from the e-EFKA. The regulation is considered necessary in view of the special nature of the function of the clergy, as in most cases the clergy were excluded from receiving a one-off benefit, even though they paid contributions throughout their insurance life.
A reference also to the Kairides amendment, which we must point out:
1. imposes increased penalties on employers and repatriated foreign workers who violate the conditions of repatriation and strengthens the crackdown on illegal immigrant trafficking.
2. puts order in the status of those foreigners who live in Greece, for a long time, and work and strengthens public security. The license does not confer any other rights.
3. The provision boosts public revenues, in taxes and social security contributions, and reduces the cost of the monthly allowances currently granted to asylum seekers, throughout the process of examining their application.
4. The regulation applies once, with a validity of one year, and does not change in any way the permanent provisions on legal immigration,
5. It is not the first time of such an arrangement. The Greek state, in the past, has regulated the residence status of citizens of third countries,
Ladies and Gentlemen, the National Assembly restores injustices, grants reasonable rights that satisfy the self-evident, the sense of justice, and the needs of the working reality, and for these reasons I will vote for it. »
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