Minister of Labor and Social Security Niki Kerameos is traveling to Brussels, where she will participate in a high-level event on the topic: “Greece’s National Social Pact: A European Model for Social Dialogue” on Thursday, June 18.
The discussion will be streamed live online at 12:00 p.m. Greek time, and its aim is to explore what Greece’s tripartite agreement means for the future of collective bargaining in Europe and how renewed social dialogue can contribute to more resilient, competitive, and inclusive economies.
The keynote speaker at the event will be Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while Ms. Kerameos will participate in a roundtable discussion with the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Readiness, Roxana Minzatu, and the President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Séamus Boland.
The event is being held to mark the milestone achieved by our country in late November 2025 with the signing of the National Social Pact by all National Social Partners, representatives of workers and employers. The Pact paved the way for the signing of new collective bargaining agreements and the extension of existing ones, securing wage increases and greater protection for workers.
At the same time, Greece’s success was met with an enthusiastic reception by the European Commission, as it served as a powerful example to follow, a “source of inspiration for social dialogue across Europe,” as the responsible European Commissioner, Roxana Minzatu, notably stated at the December Council of Ministers of Labor and Social Security.
This was followed, in March 2026, Ms. Minzatu visited Greece, where, following a meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Minister Kerameos, she commended our country for the reforms implemented in the labor market, and had the opportunity to visit facilities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Public Employment Service.
It is worth noting that the enactment of the National Social Agreement has yielded tangible results in the labor market, as significant collective bargaining agreements have already been signed and extended—for example, in the catering and confectionery sectors—providing for wage increases and benefits for nearly 500,000 workers in those industries.