Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Social Partners and Reforms in the Wage-Setting System in Greece under Austerity

The paper focuses on the reforms in the wage-setting system in Greece in the context of a severe recession and against the backdrop of EU bailout agreements. The analysis reveals that the reforms are also contested among key actors, and that the fault lines between social partners are not fully consistent with the notion of a binary pro-reform (from business associations) vs. anti-reform stance (from labour associations). Instead, our interview data expose hitherto hidden fractures in the employers’ camp. Employers’ representatives express –in varying degrees– their scepticism towards the efficacy of the institutional changes and generally towards technocratic solutions. More broadly this analysis reflects on the contested and controversial nature of the policy reforms on wage setting, for which there is no consensus either in the academic or policy literature, and delves deeper into the views and perspectives of key actors on the efficacy and consequences of the main institutional changes in wage setting.