“I’d rather we had open businesses with somewhat lower revenue”…

Replying to a question from SYRIZA chairman Alexis Tsipras, the PM explained that it is “better to have open businesses with somewhat lower earnings, instead of closed businesses and more unemployed people. We encourage dialogue between social partners and expect their decisions.”

When asked whether the government will proceed with reducing or freezing salaries, he revealed that “we will give time to social partners for consultation. The government cannot and should not intervene while the dialogue is still in progress. There are no preconceived decisions. The final positions will be based on the results of the dialogue, the protection of the most vulnerable sectors and competitiveness… The unemployed have no minimum wage or 13th or 14th, salary so we have to care for them as well.”
 

Papademos said that “Greece is a heavily indebted country. During 2001-2009 the cumulative loss of competitiveness reached 23% compared with the other EU countries” and “this loss is reflected in the current exchange deficit and also in the fact that labor costs, part of which are the wages, has almost doubled compared with other countries. The nominal increase was significantly higher than productivity. These developments should not be ignored either by employees or by businesses.”
 

Finally, he said that “if the country fails to address the debt crisis, the impact on our living standards will be dramatic. We make efforts to avoid such a development and see what we can change. It is clear that adjustment margins are very limited for low wage earners. We all want incomes to grow, but we are forced to confront the consequences of past mistakes.”

Earlier today protothema.gr posted a story according to which the social partners will agree to the prospect of freezing all salaries for the next year.