Greece to lay off more than 27,000 state workers

[News_Editor]

Greece to lay off more than 27,000 state workers

2011-10-04 01:16:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

ATHENS, GREECE (BNO NEWS) -- Greece has announced it will be cutting the jobs of more than 27,000 civil servant employees by the end of the year as part of its cost-cutting measures, local media reported on Monday.

Greek cabinet members on Sunday agreed to the measures and, after their meeting, announced that between 7,000 and 8,000 civil servants will be made redundant and receive a severance pay by the end of the year, while up to 20,000 others will be placed on 'labor reserve,' Athens News reported.

According to the government, those placed on labor reserve will be receiving 60 percent of their salaries by December. However, the agreement states that if those placed on the reserve fail to find another civil service position within the next twelve months, they would be completely let go, although they would receive full pensions.

The labor reserve measure, which was prepared alongside the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will mainly apply to state workers who are 60 years old or older and due to retire within the next two years.

The measure also includes around 1,000 elementary and junior high school education employees as well as state agency workers. The first batch of people to be laid off will be drawn from ministries and the wider public service, including local government, state agencies and state-run enterprises.

In addition, the measure will require around 1,000 civil servants who continue to work past their retirement age to retire immediately. Those expected to be transferred to other positions - an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 employees - will also be laid off if they refuse their new posts.

The cost-cutting measures are expected to save Greece around 300 million euros (398 million U.S. dollars) in 2012. Next year, the Civil Service Hiring Examinations Board and European Union experts will conduct an evaluation process to determine whether more cuts are needed.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-04

[Pedzie]

More riots on the streets of Athens then!

And just how much more can the German taxpayer take in bailouts ?

[jalansanitwong]

Going by the news story the Greek government is only laying off 7000 not 27000 This is a tiny fraction of the overall massive public service of hundreds of thousands of mindless pen pushers. .I dont know why the Germans put up with these quacks. Greeks live off other peoples money. A leopard never changes its spots.

Edited October 4, 2011 by jalansanitwong

[mpoppel]

Going by the news story the Greek government is only laying off 7000 not 27000 This is a tiny fraction of the overall massive public service of hundreds of thousands of mindless pen pushers. .I dont know why the Germans put up with these quacks. Greeks live off other peoples money. A leopard never changes its spots.

The title of the story should probably have been "up to 27,000" instead of "more than". In any case, 7 to 8,000 will be cut by the end of the year while the other 20,000 are also being laid off unless they are able to find another civil service job. But those 20,000 are all 60+ - who is going to hire them? In the end nearly all of the 27,000 will be without work.

[TAWP]

they would be completely let go, although they would receive full pensions

I.e. still massive payouts each month by the government - just from another part of the budget.