New Collective Agreement Signed in the Tourism Sector

On February 19, 2025, a new collective agreement was signed for hospitality workers, impacting approximately 10,550 businesses and nearly 150,000 employees, according to an announcement by the Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers (POEET). The two-year collective labor agreement was signed by POEET and includes a retroactive increase of 5% starting from January 1, 2025, followed by a 3% increase from January 1, 2026. Additionally, the agreement introduces the creation of a Professional Supplementary Insurance Fund (ETEA), with 2% insurance contributions entirely borne by employers. If the fund is not established by May 30, 2026, the 2% will be transferred to wages as a bonus starting June 1, 2026. Four new specialties have been introduced into the salary scales of the agreement: hostess, employees at mini-markets within hotels, technical maintenance staff excluding electricians, and accountants working within hotel accounting departments. All institutional terms of the agreement and allowances remain intact, and subcontracted workers, whether from employment agencies or temporary work companies, are also covered. Furthermore, graduates of Technological Educational Institutes (TEI) will receive a study allowance equal to that of University graduates—15% instead of 10%. According to POEET, the new collective agreement, combined with the implementation of the Digital Card, will improve both salary conditions and working environments in the sector. It now falls on the government and the Ministry of Labor to declare the terms of the Collective Labor Agreement universally mandatory for all hospitality businesses.