As unemployment soars in Greece, new employment contracts for Greeks desperately seeking work are emerging.
The Ergani database system of the Greek Labor Ministry records the flow of employment across Greece in terms of region, sector, company size and contract type, among other categories, in real-time.
Recent data collected through the ministry’s Ergani system shows that 50.46% of the new jobs created in 2016 involve “flexible working“, which includes contracts created for mini-jobs and zero-hour contracts, both with salaries below minimum wage and no benefits to employees.
One term being used to refer to contracts that desperate unemployed Greeks are signing is “white contracts.” These contracts are not singular to Greece and can be found throughout the European markets over the past few years, as unemployment has risen and individuals are in dire need of income.
Basically, a “white contract” is one in which a person signs out of desperation for employment, willing to accept any and all terms and working conditions that the employer sets forth.
Also employment contracts for temporary and mini-jobs target pensioners, students and the unemployed while providing few hours of work and no insurance or taxes.
With the minimum wage in Greece averaging around 500-600 euros monthly, many employees signing these contracts find themselves earning on average 400 euros or less monthly, not exactly a survivable wage for the majority of Greeks.
Additional types of contracts that are on the rise in Greece at the moment are as follows:
- Labor franchising or fixed-term contract for lending a big number of employees to tourist companies or providing high-tech services to banks and finance companies
- Teleworking where the employment contract allows you to work at home, while your company’s offices are abroad
- Zero-hour contracts are like freelance jobs. Self-employed people offer their services to a company whenever there is a need. Many self-employed individuals end up working full-time for an employer without the benefits of full-time employment contracts
- Low hour contracts where individuals work for only 2-5 hours per week
- On-call contracts are also common, where the employee is on call during nights and weekends
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
