According to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Greek government and the Troika of international lenders, approximately 15,000 Greek public employees should have been laid off in 2013 and 2014.
From these 15,000, approximately 8,500 layoffs have already been carried out and the remaining 6,500 must be implemented within the next six months.
On behalf of the Greek government, administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis insists on the commitments of the memorandum concerning the reform of the public sector, referring to them as a “thorny issue” but also as a“prerequisite” for the disbursement of the remaining tranches of Greece’s bailout loan.
Last year 3,600 layoffs were carried out, while another 5,000 were implemented during the first semester of 2014. Out of the 5,000 public employees in the spotlight for layoffs, 500 were government employees using their status for personal benefit (i.e. accepting under the table cash to pull strings), 1,400 school guards, 2,500 EOPYY (National Organization for Healthcare Provision) employees, 200 municipal police officers, 100 professors of vocational schools (EPAL), 100 from different areas of the public sector, as well as 100 in redundant positions in various Greek ministries.
According to the Ministry the 6,500 remaining layoffs will come from the following procedures:
Hearings of disciplinary cases will be conducted in addition to more intense disciplinary councils checks. For those public employees that have been appointed to their positions, the Audit Board Public Administration will conduct checks in order to identify if they are working under false certificates. Audits will also be conducted for illegal conversions of fixed contracts to indefinite ones. Furthermore, any public employee not be placed in a new position after his 8-month contract expiration, will be laid off. Last but not least, a significant number of private legal entities will be shut down.
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