Civil service cuts to be detailed in online reports
Government officials have reportedly presented troika inspectors with a plan detailing a radical overhaul of the civil service which foresees the evaluation of 450,000 public servants and the publication of monthly online bulletins with updates on the progress of layoffs and of the induction of civil servants into a so-called mobility scheme.
In the document, which has been seen by Kathimerini, the government claims to have made good on its pledge to lay off 2,000 civil servants over the summer, citing the closure of ERT and its more than 2,600 employees.
Greek officials also claim to be on track to meeting the remainder of Greece’s commitments to foreign creditors. “We have achieved the targets set for September regarding forced dismissals,” the document said, adding, “We are determined to move forward with an overhaul of the public sector which is necessary for the establishment of more efficient social services.”
The document reaffirms the government’s pledge to dismiss 4,000 civil servants by the end of this year and put 25,000 into a mobility scheme, which would see workers receiving a reduced salary for a year ahead of possible redundancy, as part of Greece’s pledge to creditors to dismiss some 180,000 people from the civil service between 2012 and 2016.
In a bid to boost transparency, and allow troika officials to remain up to date on the government’s reform efforts, there is to be a monthly review posted online every month with a tally of the layoffs, retirements and staff in the mobility scheme.
The reports are also to include details on the progress of disciplinary proceedings against hundreds of civil servants accused of offenses ranging from breach of faith to attempted manslaughter, according to sources.
A scheme for the evaluation of some 450,000 civil servants is also on the cards. This, along with the induction of 12,500 public sector workers into the mobility scheme by the end of the summer are both “prior actions” that have been demanded by troika envoys ahead of their next inspection of Greece’s economic reform program, scheduled for September.
