According to today’s statements (6.2.2024) by the president of SBE, Loukias Sarantis, companies in Greece have “terrible” labor shortages, with the result that even mature investments, aimed at increasing productivity or digital upgrading, are not they can operate, due to the lack of workers.
Shortages vary by sector of economic activity, concern all levels of specialization and become greater the further away an area is from the center. Especially in the area of Thessaloniki, they mainly concern specialized personnel. Even Ms. Saranti, during a meeting with journalists, even pointing out that in some areas of the Greek region, companies offer high wages and yet they cannot find workers.
Ms. Saranti announced that the SBE commissioned Deloitte to conduct research on the main issues and weaknesses of professional education and training in terms of human resources, especially in industry.
The study will be presented within the next two weeks, with the aim of acting as a tool for the Ministry of Labor and subsequently serving as the “leaven” for upgrading and updating the skills of workers and better linking vocational training and human resources with the labor market.
Responding to questions from journalists, the president of SBE also referred to the need to further reduce non-salary costs for businesses (“the state made some reduction in employer contributions, but it was very small”), but also to the high cost of energy, which is perennial problem for Greek industries and their competitiveness, which was magnified by the crisis in Ukraine.
He added that – depending on the model – an industry in Greece pays for electricity approximately 30% more expensive than a German one. In fact, according to Ms. Saranti, the farmers are right when they complain regarding the high cost of energy.
The businesswoman also made special mention of the effects of the climate crisis, as manifested among others in Evros and Thessaly, with the devastating fires and floods. He estimated that a large percentage of processing businesses in the food sector have been affected and many have now turned to imports of raw materials such as milk and wheat, as domestic production is not sufficient following the disasters.
Ms. Saranti also expressed the assessment that the digital work card, although in the right direction because it suppresses black and undeclared work, might be characterized as “even anachronistic”, as it creates “too many difficulties”, especially in cases of workers with increased mobility and flexible working hours (eg loading and unloading, construction sites, etc.).
The president of the SBE also argued that the procedures of the NSRF, but also programs such as “Greece 2.0” or the development law do not work properly, since some businesses cannot benefit from them and others are forced to wait for a long time for the evaluation and approval of their applications.
“This is a very serious matter, because most of these programs address the critical objectives of green transition and digital upgrading. The good thing is that the programs are targeted to the needs of today, the digital upgrade and the green transition. The bad thing is that they don’t “walk” fast,” he said.
According to newsit, when asked if she is optimistic that Greek industry will maintain its resilience in a time of labor shortages, expensive energy and inadequate data and electricity networks, Ms Saranti replied:
“Logic says I shouldn’t be too optimistic, but practice is different.
Greek industries passed the severe financial crisis, the coronavirus, then came the war in Ukraine and yet they exist and operate, thanks to the sacrifices of businessmen and workers. So there is resilience.
The government is moving in the right direction, it has resurrected a bankrupt country, which now has growth rates much higher than the EU average. If even more starts to materialize, we will now be able to base optimism more on logic,” he underlined.
As for the companies making super profits amid inflationary pressures, Ms Saranti assessed that they were isolated cases, saying it was unfair to generalize and stressing that “greed inflation” needed to be controlled.
Referring to 2024, she pointed out that the goal of the SBE administration is to become even more useful to its member companies, while she pointed out that next Thursday, February 8, the association, in collaboration with the SBE, is organizing – exclusively for its members – an event for the digital card, with speakers the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Domna Michailidou and the General Secretary of Labor Relations, Anna Stratinaki.
At the same time, the “SBE DIALOGUES” initiative continues, with the next Alex Reed of honor Spyros Theodoropoulos, president and CEO of Bespoke SG, who will talk regarding his professional career, the challenges and opportunities he encountered.
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#Industrialists #labor #shortages
