Another 19,000 Greek civil servants face early retirement in January

2011-12-08 03:52:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

ATHENS (BNO NEWS) -- A second wave of around 19,000 civil servants are to be pushed into early retirement on January 1 as Greece tries to reduce its spending, the Kathimerini newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Of the 19,000 civil servants, around 12,000 are close to retirement and another 7,000 are employed in state bodies which are slated for closure or merging with other organizations. Many of them are being moved into the labor reserve, meaning that they will receive 60 percent of their regular salary over the next year.

Last week, authorities began transferring up to 14,000 civil servants, who are either close to or at retirement age, into the labor reserve. Unionists have condemned the moves as a backdoor to layoffs.

In October, Greece announced it would 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. Cabinet members announced that between 7,000 and 8,000 civil servants would be made redundant and receive a severance pay by the end of the year, while up to 20,000 others would be placed on the labor reserve.

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 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 2011-12-08

19k more - how many are there?

19k more - how many are there?

Well, including employess of government controlled companies it should be close to a million..