Pension reform to be discussed in parliament

Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas expressed hope on Thursday that the pension reform bills would be discussed at the next cabinet meeting. Speaking at the beginning of the labour advisory body meeting, Mousiouttas said the legal review by the Law Office was expected to be completed by Monday and that, following the review, the reform would be brought to the next meeting of the cabinet to be approved and subsequently forwarded to the House of Representatives. “We are entering the final stretch,” Mousiouttas said, adding that “the final measures are the most difficult.” Furthermore, he said that the positions of the parties on the technical committee dealing with the second pillar of the pension system, the provident funds, appear to be taking shape, and that the discussion is expected to be moved to the labour advisory body. According to the minister, employers’ federation OEV and chamber of commerce Keve have already submitted their positions in writing. Deputy general secretary of trade union SEK Panikos Argyrides said the union would be submitting its positions on the matter by the end of the day. Meanwhile, PEO general secretary Sotiroula Charalambous said that the trade union would be submitting its own positions by Monday.