Bllomberg: Greece May Drop Protections for State Workers, Minister Says

11/2/2014

Greece may make changes to the protected status of state employees in a constitutional review expected to start this year, Administration Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told lawmakers in parliament today.

Greece has been under pressure to trim its payroll since the government agreed in 2012 with creditors from the euro area and the International Monetary Fund to dismiss 4,000 state employees by the end of 2013 and 11,000 this year. Mitsotakis said 3,600 employees were fired in 2013.

Constitutional restrictions only allow the government to fire state workers in specific circumstances such as disciplinary cases or when criminal charges are involved.

The June 2013 shutdown of state television station ERT accounted for 2,500 of last year’s firings. Another 1,100 state workers were removed for disciplinary or health reasons, according to the ministry’s press office.

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