NEWS

Fuchtel critical of municipal staff

Local authority workers in Thessaloniki continued protests against job losses on Wednesday as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s special envoy to Greece told journalists in the northern port city that it takes 3,000 Greek municipal workers to do the work of 1,000 of their German counterparts.

Hans-Joachim Fuchtel said ahead of a meeting of German and Greek mayors in Thessaloniki that studies show local authority workers in Greece are less productive than those in Germany. Fuchtel, who holds the position of federal deputy labor minister in Germany, did not elaborate on the surveys he cited but insisted that efforts would have to be made to reduce the number of municipal employees.

The Thessaloniki Municipality is due to issue a list today of the names of employees to be made redundant, but unions said they will try to block the procedure.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.