Union appeals to Council of State over retirement age

Greece’s civil servants union, ADEDY, on Monday appealed to the Council of State for the annulment of a government decision regarding the rise of the minimum retirement age.

The union asked the country’s highest administrative court to cancel a ministerial decision affecting workers who had filed for a pension before August 14 but whose application did not comply with the minimum age requirement introduced in October.

ADEDY’s appeal was filed against Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos, Deputy Minister for Social Security Tasos Petropoulos and Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis, whose decision to raise the minimum retirement age was part of the country’s third bailout agreement with its creditors.

In October, the SYRIZA-Independent Greeks government announced the implementation of a law stipulating that minimum retirement ages would be raised gradually up until 2022, when all workers would be eligible to collect their pension on or after the day they turn 67.

For those who have completed 40 years of work, the minimum age will be 62 at the earliest.