Are you still wearing masks, both inside and outside the house? Big mistake! Do you go out for short afternoon or evening strolls to grab a beer, only to find that your favorite bar isn’t playing any music? Wrong again! Have you noticed that restaurants and bars are closing their doors at midnight? The owners are confused…
Friends, The pandemic has been over for a few days now. No more lies. That's it—it's over.
What do you mean, you didn't get it? Never mind, the one who understands it best of all is… Kostis Hatzidakis! Yes, you read that right. The rest of us think we’re living under restrictive conditions because of the pandemic. But not the country’s Minister of Labor. He knows better than anyone else. That’s why he’s passing laws on the matter.
Otherwise, there is no way to explain the decision to define the new special-purpose permit for working parents whose children will contract COVID-19, on the condition of… a sick leave! Obviously, we are not experiencing exceptional circumstances; therefore, there is clearly no pandemic, so yes, you are absolutely right—any special leave should be granted as sick leave.
This is the latest government ’joke”—or rather, an unpublished one—that’s been making the rounds in newsrooms for the past few days. And it’s not just that: All households with young children (up to the third year of middle school, please) are telling each other the same joke—and smiling bitterly…
Really, Why doesn't the same measure apply to parents with children in high school?; Doesn't that young teenager catch COVID-19 there? Doesn't that young woman get sick with the coronavirus there? So, If you have kids right before the national college entrance exams, you’re doubly unlucky. Not only are they at risk of getting sick, but you won’t get any time off either. Forget about it.
However, as we said, Kostis Hatzidakis knows much more than we do. That’s why, in a moment of ’crisis of grandeur,« he made the big decision: The 50% pay cut that was supposed to be applied (as we mentioned, the sick leave model) for the four days of special leave is changing: Yes, it has been decided to apply it to three of the four days! The three days covered by the employer will be paid at 50%, and the fourth day, covered by EFKA, at 100%! This is a… complete reversal. I don’t think any employee has a complaint, do they?;
Now, you can all put your masks back on. The joke's over…
By Vasilis Angelopoulos
