Novahas implemented a voluntary retirement program ,a move that, according to the company’s announcement, affects 44 employees. This move has sparked a reaction from the company’s labor union, which has called for work stoppages through Friday, May 29.
Nova describes the program as “one-off” and states that it offers those affected the “opportunity for voluntary departure under favorable financial terms.” Additionally, according to reports, these are positions that will no longer exist within the internal organizational structure.
As part of the exit program, the company is offering an enhanced financial package, which amounts to twice the statutory severance pay per employee, maintenance of the group insurance policy for the employee and their dependents for 1 year, as well as benefits related to telephone, internet, and television services.
Nova’s announcement
Nova’s announcement in detail:
Guided by respect for its people and with the aim of managing the transition in the most responsible and supportive manner, Nova is implementing a one-time Voluntary Separation Program, offering affected employees—specifically 44 employees—the opportunity to voluntarily leave on favorable financial terms.
As part of the Program, Nova, remaining committed to ensuring a fair and dignified process for all employees affected by this organizational change, is offering an enhanced financial benefit, which amounts to twice the statutory severance pay per employee, maintains the group insurance policy for the employee and their dependents for 1 year, as well as benefits related to telephone, internet, and television services.
The employees’ union’s response
For its part, the company’s employees’ union states in its own announcement that“this is not an isolated incident, but an organized restructuring plan leading to a reduction in permanent jobs, increased job insecurity, and the outsourcing of work to contractors.”
“We will not back down; we will not accept that the 44 lose their jobs,”they state emphatically.
The union has called for daily work stoppages from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. through Friday, May 29, while a protest rally was held today at 11:00 a.m. at the administration offices in the Athens Avenue building.
The full statement from the workers’ union is as follows:
“We will not back down—We will not sign
On Tuesday, Nova employees gave an initial response to management and its plans. The 44 colleagues targeted for dismissal, along with dozens of colleagues from other departments who shut down their computers and came down, participated in the largest assembly of our union in years. Through our participation, we made it clear that we will not back down, we will not accept that the 44 lose their jobs, and we will not accept that the backdoor is opened for other jobs to be outsourced to contractors.
The reality is clear: this is not an isolated incident, but an organized restructuring plan leading to a reduction in permanent jobs, increased job insecurity, and the outsourcing of work to contractors. No job is safe; any of us could find ourselves sacrificed tomorrow on the altar of profitability. It would be laughable if the situation weren’t so serious to think that just a few months ago the CEO was talking about the “year of the employee,” while just a few days ago his counterpart at the group was celebrating Nova’s best year ever.
That is why the slogan “Their profits—our lives!” is more relevant than ever!
Developments at Nova, as well as across the entire sector—the memory of the 300 layoffs at Vodafone, the anti-worker changes at the OTE Group, and the ongoing layoffs at IT companies is still fresh—are not out of the blue. They are part of the broader context of the shift by monopolistic conglomerates toward the so-called war economy, where projects of strategic importance and technological restructuring are leveraged to increase profitability and intensify the exploitation of labor. Behind the terms “modernization” and “voluntary departure” lies the same strategy: reducing labor costs and increasing profitability, at a time when workers have already borne the burden of years of understaffing and intensified workloads.
No worker stands alone against management. We have our union and the class-based labor movement by our side; together, organized through our participation in union actions, we can put a stop to the employers’ greed and push forward our demands for pay raises and rights that will meet our needs.
Our position remains firm: We call on our colleagues not to sign; we demand that management immediately withdraw this despicable “plan.” We are showing our solidarity by participating in the daily work stoppages from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM until Friday, May 29, when the first phase of management’s blackmail comes to an end. We will participate en masse in the protest rally at the administration building on Athinon Avenue on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. We call on the unions in the sector to show their support and solidarity, just as they have today.
We demand:
An immediate end to the voluntary redundancy program
No job losses, no outsourcing!
Hiring now in understaffed departments
The signing of a new Company Collective Bargaining Agreement for all Nova employees.
Our basis is: The 2014 Wind agreement and the 2009 ETITA agreement for television technicians, without any distinctions among employees
With GENEROUS AND SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES of at least 20% across the board for everyone
AND with an additional unfreezing of seniority increments, REACTIVATION OF THE THREE-YEAR INCREMENTS.