Gauging the mood in Greece

They are there, the green, tentative shoots of a recovery in Greece. The tourism industry, for example, has benefited from a record number of holidaymakers this summer.

But for many Greeks, this has no bearing on their own lives, as companies have slashed pay, and some do not even pay their employees on time.

"We're still in the Middle Ages when it comes to working conditions. Wages have dropped by 30 percent in the last three to four years," says Dimitris Karageorgopoulos, from GSEE, one of the two main union umbrella organizations.

But it's not just the lower wages that trouble Greek workers - around 1.2 million employees have to wait for three to 12 months to get paid. In some cases, they're paid in kind, even though it is against the law.

Waiting to get paid

The 37-yer-old Yannis and 40-year-old Maria live on the island of Crete. They do not want to give their full names for fear of losing their jobs. Yannis works for an agriculture collective with more than 100 employees.

The company exports olive oil and wine worldwide, including to the US, Australia and Germany. But while business is going well, the cooperative's workers do not benefit.

"It's been the worst year, we haven't received our wages for five months," the young man tells DW. "Sometimes we get a little bit of money, but it's hardly enough for petrol."

Maria says she had been forced to stay at home one day, as she couldn't afford to buy petrol. She works for a bakery chain with 250 employees 25 kilometers away. During the winter she was once not paid for four months. Maria is furious, she says the company is turning a tidy profit. "For some people, there is no crisis, they'd sell their own grandmother."

Lower wages, no holiday and bullying

Maria has been with the company for 15 years. In the last two years, her salary was reduced to 815 euros ($1,025) from 1,090 euros despite the fact that business is going well. In the summer, her branch takes in 4,000 euros.

Maria only as 4 days off a month, since 2012 she has had hardly any annual leave despite being entitled to 30 days a year. So far, she's only managed five days.

What's even worse is that workers are being monitored constantly on CCTV. "They put pressure on older colleagues by claiming that they are lazy an unmotivated," Maria tells DW.

"Even when the shop is empty we get told off if we even sit down for 10 minutes. They want to get rid of us and employ new people who are willing to work for just 580 euros per month," she says.

Family ties a saving grace

So, how do people survive when they don't get paid and don't receive unemployment benefits either?

"You have to fend for yourself," Yannis, who has two sons, tells DW. "I have a café in the village, but I take in 50 percent less now." Maria occasionally has to borrow from friends to make ends meet. But, in the end, it's the family that has to step in.

"Unlike in other countries, the family has always played the role of a job center," union representative Karageorgopoulos says, explaining that family members tend to help out when someone loses his or her job or doesn't get paid.

"Even pensioners still support their children at all costs. And that is becoming increasingly difficult as pensions have also been reduced," he says.