Despite quotas, state sector is growing again
The rule of one hiring in the public sector for every three or four departures of civil servants, which has been agreed with the country’s creditors, has not stopped the government from increasing the number of employees in the state sector, and raising its salary costs.
Official data reveal that the number of permanent workers in the narrow state sector has remained unchanged since December 2015, three years ago, which is strange given the “one hiring for every three or four departures” rule.
The government found the appropriate space to satisfy its clientele relations with its voters in the domain of contract workers, as their total has soared from 65,547 to 78,297 in less than three years.
The number of permanent staff across all kinds of enterprises the state has under its control has increased from 26,047 to 33,571, while temporary employees have more than doubled, from 10,772 to 21,514 people.
The result of that has been a hike in salary costs: In 2015 the state, its companies, hospitals, social security funds and local authorities spent 15.9 billion euros on salaries, rising to 16.3 billion last year and 17.9 billion in 2018, partly due to retroactive payments for special wage grids.
