Greece raises minimum wage to pre-exemption level

Athens, Greece — Greece announced a minimum wage hike on Friday that will restore wages to the level they were before sweeping austerity measures imposed under an international bailout more than a decade ago.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the monthly gross minimum wage would rise from 713 euros to 780 euros ($830) starting April 1.

“I have no illusions. We know that wages are still low in our country and inflation is squeezing them even more,” said Mitsotakis, whose center-right government faces a general election in the spring.

Under pressure from creditors, Greece introduced severe salary cuts in 2012 during bailout programs financed by the European Union’s bailout fund and the International Monetary Fund.

Since the country was on the brink of bankruptcy, the government took over the wage policy ‒ previously established through labor negotiations ‒ and reduced the monthly minimum wage from 751 euros to 586 euros.

Greek salaries are paid out in more than 14 installments a year to provide extra at Christmas, Easter and the summer holidays. Above 12 payments on average, the new monthly gross minimum wage rises to 910 euros.