Tourism – F&B Boost June Employment in Greece

A total of 73,502 new jobs were created in June, up by an additional 35,954 against June 2020 mostly driven by the re-opening of the tourism and F&B sectors, according to the Greek labor ministry.

More specifically, based on the labor ministry’s Ergani employment system, 250,610 jobs were created in the first half of the year.

Job openings for June came to 311,649 and departures at 238,147. Of the recruitments in June, 54.64 percent concern full-time jobs, 38.44 percent part-time employment and 6.92 percent or shift work.

Overall, for the January-June 2021 period, there were 993,596 recruitment announcements and 742,986 departures. Of the news jobs created, the accommodation sector accounted for 50,157 and the F&B services sector 43,950.

It should be noted that companies which are currently running state-funded furlough programs introduced to address the impact of Covid-19 cannot lay off staff.

Meanwhile, in relevant news, the Panhellenic Federation of Employees in F&B and Tourism (POEET) convened to discuss actions in view of issues affecting its members.

The federation is requesting that the labor ministry arrange and oversee a “conciliatory meeting” between POEET and employers’ unions – the Hellenic Hoteliers Federation (POX) and the Panhellenic Federation of Restaurant Enterprises (POESE).

The federation is citing “tragic conditions” for employees at hotels,  adding that the government has failed to address the issue of employees who lost their jobs due to closure as in the case of the Mouzenidis Travel or because the enterprises they worked at never reopened after Covid.

The federation goes on to underline in its statement that many employers are refusing to enforce the laws, including rehiring personal once open, or including them in the Syn-ergasia job retention program. Instead, POEET claims, many companies are firing people and “blackmailing them with dismissal if they don’t get vaccinated”.