Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has withdrawn his plan to get rid of deadwood problem workers to help meet international lender requirements to pare the workforce by 25,000 people in the next two years after objections from his coalition partners.
The government was set to submit to Parliament a measure to speed the process of weeding out some 4,000 civil servants who have faked their credentials, don’t show up to work, are disciplinary problems or have committed felonies, including murder.
The Athens Bar Association called the move a “violation of the constitution,” while left-wing Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis refused to sign the provision. Samaras, the New Democracy Conservative leader, needs the votes of Roupakiotis’ tiny Democratic Left (DIMAR) and the PASOK Socialists, his coalition partners, who don’t want workers fired.
That means that the government instead will have to turn to firing workers who haven’t been disciplinary problems. Under the Constitution, it’s almost impossible to fire civil servants, but Samaras said that won’t apply in cases where agencies are merged and positions are no longer needed.
Disciplinary cases can take years before they’re resolved which means that the problem workers remain on the payroll, even if they refuse to come to work, but still get paid. The legislation also sought to stop contract workers whose agreements had ended from continuing to receive wages while they took legal action to make their positions permanent, and another to speed the process to get rid of problem workers.
It is estimated that more than 10,000 contract workers have appealed to the courts to extend their deals. They continue to receive their salaries, pending final rulings. In some cases, the process has already being going on for several years.
The Parliament must act on a series of reforms before the May 5 Easter break to trigger release of 8.8 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in loans from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) which wants the government to get rid of 150,000 workers over the next three years to help reduce a $380 billion debt.
Administrative Reform Minister Antonis Manitakis wanted to pass a law that would mean the contract workers would stop receiving their salaries once their employment ended. But that reportedly angered Roupakiotis, who complained that he had not been consulted and that the plan was “monstrous.”
The country’s economic crisis was caused in large part by alternating administrations of New Democracy and PASOK over the last 40 years hiring hundreds of thousands of needless workers in return for votes, but now they’re stuck with them.
Austerity measures imposed by the government have created a record 27.2 percent unemployment – all in the private sector – while public sector workers continue to enjoy lifetime job protection in most cases, although Samaras said the workforce will be cut by 15,000 by the end of 2014 through attrition and consolidation of agencies.
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