IOBE: All the key points for tackling the Demographic Problem

Of Dimitris Katsaganis

Five sets of proposals IOBE submitted yesterday in the public debate in the context of a conference on “Demographic 2022 – The Great Challenge”.

The first package concerns the establishment of a National Coordinator for mitigation and adaptation to demographic developments.

The second package envisages the formulation of a national action plan. The plan proposes actions in the broader insurance field, such as the reduction of the ceiling in terms of insurable income subject to mandatory contributions, the reduction of the percentage of mandatory contributions for the part of gross earnings of each employee to the level of the minimum wage, monitoring and timely over time revision of retirement age in combination with the minimum years of insurance, but also the possibility of receiving a national pension with less than 15 years of insurance, reduced proportionally.

The third package provides for the establishment of a National Committee for Demographic Problem, the fourth Interministerial Committee for Demographic Problem and the fifth Demographic Policy Implementation Observatory

In more detail, IOBE proposes:

1. National Coordinator for Mitigation and Adaptation to Demographic Developments.

Its purpose is to coordinate the effort to create a National Action Plan for the implementation of policies aimed at mitigating and adapting to demographic developments. It is proposed that the role of national coordinator be taken over by a government agency, with an institutional status that will oblige the relevant government agencies to respond to requests for information and reports.

2. National Action Plan

This is a policy text that will record existing and planned policy measures, with relevant quantitative and qualitative objectives, milestones, funding sources and timelines. It will be prepared in a five-year cycle, with regular evaluation and review of the measures it includes. It is proposed to conduct an annual monitoring report to monitor its implementation.

Measures of the action plan could be the following:

* Family policies and gender equality

-Harmonization of rules and rights for parental leave between the private and public sector but also for the self-employed

-Introduction of a non-transferable leave institution for the father with a high income replacement rate

-Employment of employers from the cost of covering part of the remuneration paid during the period of use of parental leave

Redesign and enhance preschool education and care services

– Private sector training and incentives to facilitate reconciliation between family and professional life and business support for young parents —

Redesign of the social benefits system

-Implementation of positive action policies and quotas in universities and public organizations

Targeted actions in the fields of education and health

* Integration of immigrants in the social and economic life of the country

Acceleration of the procedures for obtaining legal documents

-Simplification of procedures for the issuance of indefinite leave Acceleration of family reunification procedures

-Shorten and simplify the process of naturalization of new immigrants

Improving access to public services (such as health and education), especially for immigrant children

-Other actions to protect against discrimination at work, in education, in public services and in public space

* Attracting foreigners with high human capital

-Improving the attraction of highly skilled workers through the blue card program in Greece

-Examining the possibilities of introducing a scoring program of the candidates and removing the requirement to have a job offer

-Further reduce bureaucratic burden and create the right conditions to facilitate both the establishment and sustainable operation of businesses by foreign entrepreneurs

-Offering more higher education curricula (at all levels: undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral) in English Recognition of qualifications by private institutions in combination with evaluation of the quality of their studies provided by an independent Greek educational authority

-Simplification of bureaucratic procedures submitted by foreign students —

-Further simplification of degree recognition procedures and reduction of application processing time

* Stopping the emigration and repatriation of Greeks abroad

-Strengthening actions to improve the employment prospects of young scientists in Greece – Examining the effectiveness of financial incentives for the repatriation of Greeks and their possible strengthening

-Information of Greeks abroad for specialties with shortages of specialized personnel in Greece

* Increase employment and productivity

-Subsidizing the labor costs of employees covered by people who are on leave

Incentives for business research and innovation and incentives for in-company training programs

– Incentives for investment in modernization of businesses located outside of urban centers, especially if these companies are extroverted

-Financial incentives for people who attend training programs and lifelong learning

* Increasing the labor supply of women, young people and older people

– Establish incentives in business groups for the creation, operation and management of quality child care centers

-Subsidizing the cost of raising children for parents if they work

– Improving the quality of child care provided by public and private stations (“Kypseli” program)

-Extension of the use of teleworking that will lead to a reduction of travel costs to and from work

– Introduce further incentives for those close to the retirement age to stay at work

Assistance in changing social norms for the role of women

* Strengthening the capital axis of the pension system

-Implementation of the recent reform of the new auxiliary capital insurance smoothly on the basis of political consensus and good international practices

– Enhancement of occupational insurance

-Restoration and strengthening of tax incentives for households in relation to private insurance pension products

-Introduction of targeted tax incentives so that part of the pension savings is directed and invested domestically in harmony with the European institutional framework

– Promotion of financial literacy

* Improvement of public distributive insurance

-Reduction of the ceiling in terms of insurable income subject to mandatory contributions –

-Reduction of the percentage of mandatory contributions for the part of the gross salary of each employee up to the amount of the minimum wage

– Monitoring and timely review of retirement age limits in combination with the minimum years of insurance

Possibility of receiving a national pension with less than 15 years of insurance, reduced proportionally

* Other interventions in the pension system

Establishment of a national, cross-party Committee of Experts to monitor trends in the pension system Transnational agreements for the recognition of pension rights

– Harmonization in the financing structure of pension systems within the EU

– Reducing the bureaucratic burden of implementing portability through digital data sharing between insurance authorities

Facilitate the spread of multi-employer professional funds with an international presence

– Providing a high degree of flexibility for parallel employment opportunities for retirees –

-Active employment policies to stimulate the employment of older workers

-Integration programs for people with disabilities in the labor market

* Improving the health system

– Redistribution of funding and redesign of the health system

-Patient-centered care

-Strengthening the geriatric education of medical and nursing staff Supportive environments and services for the elderly

* Adaptation of the educational system

-Determination of a minimum limit of students per department, by defining specific and targeted exceptions for special social or geographical conditions

– Defining a minimum limit of students and classes per school unit, especially in urban and semi-urban areas

-Decentralization of the management of the educational system

-Autonomy and flexibility of school units in adapting part of the school curriculum to local conditions

Redistribution of public expenditure

Redesign of the operation of the pedagogical departments

– Adjustment of the number of students admitted to higher education institutions (HEIs), based on demographic changes

Reorientation of university programs aimed at improving the quality of educational work, reducing the disproportion of qualifications in the workforce and attracting foreign students

3. National Committee for the Demographic Problem

The purpose of the creation of the national committee is to be the platform for effective and regular consultation and communication of the National Action Plan with the wider society. It will be composed of representatives of public bodies, local government, social partners, and civil society organizations, as well as members of the academic community and will meet once a year. It will propose changes to the contents of the National Action Plan and will consider its annual implementation report.

4. Interministerial Committee on the Demographic Problem

The purpose of the inter-ministerial committee will be to support the National Coordinator in the collection of administrative data and information for the planning and implementation of relevant measures by the competent ministries. It will meet after convergence by the National Coordinator, depending on the needs for the planning and monitoring of the National Action Plan.

5. Demographic Policy Implementation Observatory

The purpose of the observatory will be to analyze and evaluate data on demographic developments and the implementation of the National Action Plan. It is an independent research entity or project that will seek information from the National Coordinator and produce evaluation reports to the National Commission. Through the operation of the above institutions, political interventions can have the required coherence and timeless consistency.