Galery

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Employer contributions

However, none of the participants in yesterday's meeting is willing to answer the question as to whether the parties have closed the second major issue of the Ministry of Labour relating to the timing of the employer contributions and the method of reducing them by 3.9 % by 2016.

According to unconfirmed reports, in addition to the option of reducing the contributions at once, a second alternative scenario was considered, namely to reduce the wage cost in two steps or by 2.6% in 2014 in the first step and by 1.3% next year in the second in order for  the insurance funds to accept the change more easily.

Disagreements in terms of health care

During yesterday's meeting, Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis and the representatives of the Troika disagreed on the issue of the sale of non-prescription medicines outside pharmacies.

The Minister presented the Greek point of view on this issue, namely that the Greek side wants to continue selling these medicines in pharmacies and to eliminate the constant rate of return that is in force today.

According to him, this step will reduce the prices of the specific goods, thus achieving the change proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The representatives of the lenders presented their concept for this change. They insist on selling non-prescription medicines outside pharmacies as well as on establishing a new category of retail shops, namely chains of pharmacies that will employ pharmacists for the sale of this type of medicines but the owner of the shop will not be required to be a licensed pharmacist as is today.

The Minister of Health rejected the proposal of the lenders, stressing that it will actually "blow up" the entire branch of pharmacists, who have started their business under different conditions.

He also noted that each change takes a long period of adaptation and therefore rapid changes, such as those proposed by the Troika, cannot be made.