ATHENS – The government wishes to maintain the new reality of working from home, but to also ensure the protection of in-house staff in the economically vital production sector from the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, at a videoconference with representatives of management and labour.

Mitsotakis and the social partners discussed safety at work and public health, and he spoke of a "new normal", underlining that the "old normal" is "pretty much gone forever".

"Physical presence is necessary at the great majority of jobs, let's be honest, and this means introducing new protocols under new circumstances, adapted to specific workplaces," the prime minister said, speaking of the gradual return to operation of businesses that had to shut down for preventative reasons on March 16.

Attending the meeting were presidents of the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE), Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) and the Hellenic Institute for Health and Safety at Work, as well as members of the PM's office.

According to government sources on the meeting, the government's concern is retaining jobs and protecting key employees in the production chain. In this context, they said, the government has directed that in appropriate businesses up to 70 pct of staff work from home, and has allowed a partial suspension of work for up to 60 pct of staff to give time to businesses to restart.

The prime minister, they said, has also committed to the further upgrading of an in-house doctor, opening up the restrictions to allow companies access to medical services at lower cost.