A federation representing Greece’s hoteliers and the union of employees in the tourism and F&B sector have agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that will extend until the end of 2026, and with the highlights being an average increase in basic monthly wages by 5% this year and 3% the following year.
In absolute terms, according to the hoteliers’ federation, the base monthly salary (in the 1st category) will rise to 1,000 euros, and top out at 950 euros at the lowest category, the entry level. According to the federation, the new sector-wide agreement will mean that the lowest monthly salary in the sector will be 14.5% higher than the minimum monthly wage stipulated in national legislation.
The new collective bargaining agreement also envisions the creation of a professional insurance fund for the sector’s employees, with employers to contribute 2% of the primary monthly salary.
The development comes after another banner year for Greece’s all-important tourism and holiday sector, with the Bank of Greece (BoG) this week reporting that travel remittances for 2024 achieved another record.
“With the signing of the new collective bargaining agreement, we once again affirmed that the hotel sector is a leading employer in our country. We are setting the minimum (monthly) wage at 950 euros from now on, a level that the legislated minimum wage is forecast to reach in 2027. At the same time, we are establishing potentially the largest private occupational insurance fund in the country, offering additional employment incentives and boosting the industry’s appeal to new employees,” hotel federation president Yannis Hatzis said.
