The Greek government is set to proceed with raising the minimum wage, Minister of Labour Efi Achtsioglou confirmed on Monday, promising to present the draft legislation to the Parliament later this week, in order to be ratified by the end of the year. The hike to the basic wage is a process that will start immediately and will require four months to be completed, she added.

The minister also addressed the issue of the ‘pension cuts’, which are expected to be put into effect from January 2019, repeating the government’s position that the measure will not be implemented, despite being part of the Greek economy bailout program.

Despite the fact that this particular reform has been agreed upon with the country’s lenders, and ratified by the Parliament, the Minister of Labour deemed the reform as “unnecessary.”

Achtsioglou said that the International Monetary Fund took an “obsessive” position on this issue, during Greece’s second review, when the government was insisting that there should be no cut to pensions. The minister also noted that the stance of European partners was different.

There has been a feasibility study of the pension system completed up until 2070 which is not in question, she stressed, adding that the government’s Finance Ministry officials are convinced that the targeted surpluses will be achieved and that there will be no fiscal gap.