Bid to push civil servant scheme
Amendment aims to link unpopular initiative to assess public sector workers to a new mobility program
Although this week is expected to be a quiet one for the government in view of the August 15 public holiday, the respite will be brief, with plans to pass legislation later this week regarding an assessment scheme for civil servants.
Public sector workers from across the spectrum – from teachers and nurses to tax inspectors – have sought to boycott the assessment procedure, which has been demanded by the country’s international creditors. But Administrative Reform Minister Olga Gerovasili has pledged that disciplinary action will be taken against all those who block the procedure.
In the coming days, her ministry is expected to submit a legislative amendment linking the assessment of civil servants to a new mobility scheme which aims to move employees from overstaffed or redundant parts of the public sector to understaffed areas. According to sources, the amendment will stipulate that civil servants will be excluded from the mobility scheme if they refuse to participate in the assessment procedure, which involves filling in and sub- mitting assessment forms that have been demanded by the ministry from all state agencies.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is thought to be keen to conclude the assessment procedure, along with other reforms pledged to creditors, so that there are no obstacles to the third review of the country’s latest bailout. The aim is for his administration to proceed with another attempt to tap the international markets, following a successful five-year bond issue earlier this month.
There are some fears about the stance the International Monetary Fund will take in the review and whether it might call for a fresh recapitalization of Greek banks after it underlined concerns about the issue in its latest report on Greece.
Tsipras is keen to show that the country is turning a corner toward economic stability and growth and is expected to elaborate on that narrative during his speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair early next month. He is expected to pledge support to would-be investors and further efforts to reduce red tape.