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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7AD1EX20111114
(Reuters) - From Berlin to Bratislava, indignant Europeans have gasped at stories of the relatively high wages and generous benefits enjoyed by Greek workers, whose fabled laid-back lifestyles have been blamed for helping bring the euro zone to its knees.
Athens' international lenders have pushed for cuts to the 750 euro minimum monthly wage to boost competitiveness, a welcome call for Germans, French and other voters in the currency area who have bridled at having to bail out Greece.
But for people like 33-year-old magazine editor George Theonas, that wage floor is a myth, as his and other companies use the crisis to skirt legal pay rules by tearing up collective wage deals and forcing employees into contract work.
"I can't pay my bills and I can no longer live without my parents' support," said Theonas, 33, whose employer moved him from permanent to temporary status, making 700 euros a month working 12 hours a day, seven days a week instead of the four days on his contract.
"I'm not looking for a new job. There is nowhere to go. This is Greece," he said.
Theonas is one of the lucky ones. Others at his company earn as little as 300 euros a month under trainee schemes that are extended for years, even though they do the work once bestowed only on full-time employees.
With Greek unemployment now at a euro-era record high of 18.4 percent, workers are forced to stay put, as their employers say thousands more people are standing in line for their jobs.
"Most of my friends are unemployed. I only hear of people losing their jobs. What choice do I have," said Theonas.
Athens' international lenders have pushed for cuts to the 750 euro minimum monthly wage to boost competitiveness, a welcome call for Germans, French and other voters in the currency area who have bridled at having to bail out Greece.
But for people like 33-year-old magazine editor George Theonas, that wage floor is a myth, as his and other companies use the crisis to skirt legal pay rules by tearing up collective wage deals and forcing employees into contract work.
"I can't pay my bills and I can no longer live without my parents' support," said Theonas, 33, whose employer moved him from permanent to temporary status, making 700 euros a month working 12 hours a day, seven days a week instead of the four days on his contract.
"I'm not looking for a new job. There is nowhere to go. This is Greece," he said.
Theonas is one of the lucky ones. Others at his company earn as little as 300 euros a month under trainee schemes that are extended for years, even though they do the work once bestowed only on full-time employees.
With Greek unemployment now at a euro-era record high of 18.4 percent, workers are forced to stay put, as their employers say thousands more people are standing in line for their jobs.
"Most of my friends are unemployed. I only hear of people losing their jobs. What choice do I have," said Theonas.