ATHENS — The transformation of the Greek economy is complex and demands a new development strategy based on employment, labor and improving living quality of citizens, Yiannis Panagopoulos, president of GSEE –Greece’s largest trade union umbrella- said on Thursday.

Presenting the annual report on the Greek economy and employment drafted by the Labor Insitute of the union, Panagopoulos said the planning of a new development strategy should be accompanied by an essential social dialogue.

The main points, positions and recommendations of economic policy included in the annual report are:

– A double crisis has caused significant negative consequences on labor market and the lives of workers and citizens, a burst of uncertainty and insecurity.

– The economy fell back to a deep recession in the last few months

– Households are in dire straits because of the pandemic crisis

– The Institute noted that in the short-term the economy could exit the crisis and enter a sustainable growth dynamic course by protecting the volume and quality of employment and raising available income among middle and lower income earners

– Business investments remain low which their main volume focuses on building infrastructure. There is a lack of investments that could lead to a stronger productive net.

– The current volume and structure of domestic private investments are factors adding uncertainty to the macro-economic function of the economy

– In the long-term, the cohesion, resistance and sustainability of the economy will depend on increasing private, public and social investments, focusing on green investments

– A resurgence of the pandemic crisis creates significant limitations and challenges in implementing a fiscal policy

– Rising debt issuance offers short-term benefits but at the same time raise credit risk of refinancing the debt in the medium- and long-term

– Latest trends in the labor market show dramatic changes in fundamental labor rights

– Export orientation of the economy remains problematic since there has been no improvement in the structural competitiveness of the economy

– The quality downgrade of a basket of export products reflects the deterioration of economic complexity of the domestic productive model

– An efficient development strategy should focus on the technological upgrading and variety of exports

– The agri-food system has remarkable and unexploited potential

– The development transformation of the country requires an holistic strategy of setting priorities, comparative advantages and restructuring the productive model.