Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus discussed new measures to boost employment, as well as developments involving Pizza Fan, in an interview with the television station SKAI.
On the Pizza Fan case, Kerameus said that last week the Labor Ministry held a three-way meeting with representatives of the workers and of management. The goal was to protect the workers and safeguard their jobs, while the judicial investigation continues.
As she said, “On Friday, November 6, 2026, following a request from management, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority released key bank accounts, solely for the operating needs of the business.
“According to management, the vast majority of employees have already been paid, while accounts were also released to pay suppliers and tax obligations.
“At the same time, orders are expected to start again from tomorrow, November 11.”
The labor minister also said that the Independent Labor Inspection Authority has carried out a total of 165 inspections at Pizza Fan over the last two years, imposing fines of more than 730,000 euros.
“It is important that the business is reopening, and in this way the jobs are also secured. For us, this is the main issue,” she stressed.
Kerameus placed particular emphasis on the new subsidized employment program for 27,500 new jobs, which she announced starts today.
Priority will be given to two groups of unemployed people: women and people aged 50 and over.
She explained that despite the significant drop in unemployment, there is still room to further boost employment among women. Similarly, unemployed people over 50 face greater difficulties returning to the job market.
The labor minister stressed that unemployment now stands at 7.6%, its lowest level in 18 years, noting that this is the result of targeted employment policies.
As part of the effort to boost employment in the regions, Kerameus also referred to a program for citizens who want to stay in remote mountain municipalities of the country but have trouble finding work.
Through this program, businesses that hire workers to work remotely from specific mountain municipalities will receive a 90% subsidy for one year.
The minister also spoke about the bill now in public consultation, which sets rules for the use of artificial intelligence in the labor market, in line with a European directive.
As she said, there are businesses where critical decisions about workers, such as task assignments, promotions, pay and even termination, are made solely by algorithms.
“We are calling for full transparency, and for mandatory human oversight in critical decisions,” Kerameus stressed. She added that the bill has been discussed extensively with the social partners and that many of their comments have been included.
At the same time, she said artificial intelligence will significantly increase productivity in the labor market, provided that both the state and the private sector invest in upgrading workers’ skills.
On the Digital Work Card, Kerameus noted that it has been extended to an additional 500,000 workers, bringing the total number of workers covered by the measure to 2.5 million.
She noted that in 2025 alone, 2.7 million more overtime hours were recorded than the year before, thanks to the use and expansion of the Digital Work Card.
The labor minister highlighted the three main benefits of the measure:
- Workers are paid for their overtime.
- Healthy competition between businesses is strengthened.
- Revenue for social security funds increases, creating additional fiscal space to support society.
In this context, she referred to the permanent 400-euro payment to pensioners, which is paid in November, and to the elimination of cuts to survivors’ pensions that had been introduced under the Tsipras-Katrougalos law.
Finally, Kerameus announced that the next “Rebrain Greece” event will take place in Munich on November 28, 2026. It aims to connect Greeks living abroad with the Greek job market.
According to the figures she presented, of the roughly 770,000 Greeks who left the country during the crisis, 473,000 have already returned, about 62%.
Source: tovima.com
