Mandatory vaccine rules to be unveiled, ending speculation

The framework governing the mandatory vaccinations of civil servants announced on Thursday by government spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni will reportedly be presented in the coming week.

Kathimerini understands there will be no disciplinary council referral for civil servants who refuse to get vaccinated when it is mandatory. Instead they will be placed on unpaid leave “until the end of the pandemic,” which means, essentially, that employees will be allowed to return to work once authorities deem there is no longer a health risk. 

The government’s decision to opt for unpaid leave puts an end to speculation of possible redundancies that was fueled last week by statements made by the ministers of development and the interior, Adonis Georgiadis and Makis Voridis. 

Another expected provision under the new rules governing mandatory inoculations is that employers in the private sector will have the right to ask an employee for a vaccination certificate.

This does not make vaccination mandatory, nor is it a reason for dismissal, even though nothing can be taken for granted in the private sector.

Meanwhile on Friday Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis once again called on citizens to get their shots.

Welcoming visiting European Commissioner of the Internal Market Thierry Breton, Mitsotakis stated that “the challenge is to convince the citizens to get vaccinated” while talking about the government’s strategy. 

“With the comprehensive campaign we have organized and with the right balance between incentives and disincentives, we have seen vaccinations increase significantly in recent weeks,” he said. 

During their meeting, the two men also spoke about the actions taken on the European and national level to combat the pandemic, the cooperation for the supply and distribution of vaccines, as well as the European digital certificate. Mitsotakis lauded Breton’s work on the vaccine front, and thanked him for supporting the proposal for the digital certificate, “which was an idea that we were the first to promote and support.”

Mitsotakis also expressed confidence that “we have finally turned the page” and that in the next period Greece will take steps forward not only as far as economic development is concerned but also in the field of innovation.

For his part, Breton praised the Greek plan for the recovery fund, and its emphasis on the green and digital transitions.