Mr Vasilis Kegeroglou keeps his current position at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security continuing his work in the challenging domain of working relations (massive redundancies, contracts, unemployment) while two deputy ministers are added, Mr. Antonis Mpezas and Mr Yannis Plakiotakis.

Their competence will likely be set today after their meeting with Mr Vroutsis. One of them will take over Social Security domain and the other one the Welfare domain. By this Mr Samaras wants to show that the government intends to strengthen the Ministry so as to deal with all the necessary and challenging issues.

The priorities of the new leadership in accordance with the timetable set by the medium-term program are:

– The implementation of the measures that have been voted (reducing of supplementary pensions, reducing social security contributions by 3.9%, abolishing social resources), the consolidation of funds, the pension reform of 2015 and the gradual disengagement of the insurance system from the state funding.

The new model planned by the government provides that:

– three funds will be created

– the new insurance funds will gradual absorb the funds of supplementary insurance and welfare

– in the future a single big national fund for a total of 11.5 million indirectly and directly insured and pensioners will be created and act as the umbrella of the three separate funds

– the insurance reform will apply from 1 January 2015