The Greek government on Wednesday submitted a draft to parliament on accelerating the process of raising the minimum wage for the first time since 2009 when the debt crisis erupted. The move comes a month after Greece emerged from the third international bailout plan.
The move is a priority for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government, which in 2015 signed a new bailout despite its previous pledges to end the austerity measures and raise wages.
The minimum wage had been reduced by up to 32% to about 500 euros during the crisis as part of measures identified by lenders to make the labor market more flexible and the economy more competitive. The increase in the minimum wage will be completed by January 2019.
Tsipras' term ends next year, and his party Syriza is behind conservative opposition in opinion polls.
