NEWS

Bill in the works to make state jobs permanent

Bill in the works to make state jobs permanent

The government is preparing to honor a pledge to offer permanent status to civil servants in key posts of the public sector, Kathimerini understands, with legislation boosting their rights expected to head to Parliament soon.

According to sources, the legislation will relate to specific categories of civil servants such as cleaners, firefighters, employees at creches and other social services, and to a limited number of workers deemed necessary to cover the “basic needs” of the Greek public sector.

What remains unclear is what criteria will be applied in the process of selecting the civil servants that will see their short-term contracts made permanent.

The idea was first broached in earnest in January by Minister of State Christos Vernardakis who heralded 10,000 new permanent hirings to the Greek civil service and declared the government’s intention to boost the rights of contract workers in the public sector to the same level as permanent employees.

Since then, several other cabinet officials have followed suit, including Administrative Reform Minister Olga Gerovassili who in March announced a government initiative to take stock of all Greek contract workers currently employed by the state sector and determine who is indispensable.

According to sources, the government is keen to bring to Parliament a bill that offers permanency to civil servants as soon as possible, as it will offset legislation imposing additional austerity that the House must adopt in the coming weeks in line with Greece’s bailout commitments.

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