Niki Kerameos announced the upcoming expansion of the successful program for unemployed older adults.
The significant results of the active employment policies implemented by the government to strengthen social cohesion and support the most vulnerable groups of the population, Minister of Labor, Niki Kerameos. Ms. Kerameos placed particular emphasis on the overwhelming response to the program for older long-term unemployed individuals, emphasizing the importance of government intervention at a critical juncture in their professional careers. As the Minister stated, “we already have over 35,000 beneficiaries of this program. It is aimed at unemployed people aged 55 and older.”
The Minister of Labor analyzed the practical difficulties faced by workers in this category when they find themselves out of the workforce, highlighting the dual objective of the program: immediate financial relief and ensuring the necessary conditions for their future retirement. “If you find yourself out of work at this age, it becomes more difficult to re-enter the labor market. We subsidize employment for the unemployed aged 55 and older, who very often are just a few years short of qualifying for retirement,” he explained, while also announcing that “we are on the verge of a new expansion of this program”.
In closing her remarks, Niki Kerameos placed special emphasis on yet another parallel initiative by the ministry, which aims to ensure the equal integration of people with disabilities into the labor market through local government. “At the same time, we are also running another program for our fellow citizens with disabilities. A total of 3,000 of our fellow citizens with disabilities can work in municipalities and regions,” she concluded.
