Το βάθος της κρίσης και η ανασυγκρότηση της απασχόλησης και της ανεργίας

Abstract

This paper deals with the labor reforms that were promoted in Greece during the period 2010-2015 and which were part of the commitments of the Memorandum Programs. In addition, it examines how the employment environment has evolved as a result of these labor reforms that have been imposed. The purpose of the analysis is to investigate whether labor interventions eventually moved in the right direction and restructured the labor market affected by the economic crisis. The global financial crisis of 2008 spread rapidly and its effects caused severe problems in the economies of many countries, including Greece. The employment sector has suffered particularly catastrophic consequences both because of the crisis and because of labor reforms. Through surveys and statistics, the extent and depth of the unemployment problem as it developed in the period 2010-2015 is presented. Also, the special characteristics of the Greek labor market (institutional and structural) that had contributed to the shaping of the employment environment during the period when the economic recession broke out in the country are analyzed. Emphasis is placed on the presentation of labor reforms and the way they have affected the labor market and it proves that in a very short period of time a completely different labor landscape is being formed. The main axis around which the changes moved was the deregulation of collective agreements and the process of determining remuneration, the elaboration of working hours, the liberalization of individual and group redundancies and the shift of forms of work to flexible forms. The results of the interventions were not as expected as the findings raise doubts about whether the proposed solutions were effective in alleviating the unemployment rate and improving the structural weaknesses of the Greek employment landscape. The Greek labor market was affected in 2020 and early 2021 by the effects of the outbreak of the pandemic crisis.