Civil servants prepare for earnings increases
The end of the freeze on salaries that was introduced in 2015 will entail raises in civil servants’ earnings from this year and an additional cost to the state coffers amounting to 143 million euros.
A circular issued by the Finance Ministry clarifies that the suspension of salary increases for all civil servants ended on December 31, 2017.
Public sector workers’ earnings will be raised once every three years for employees without a university degree and every two years for those with degrees.
Despite the freeze, the calculation of the time of service will include the last couple of years, which means that in certain cases some civil servants may stand to advance by two salary levels soon once their degrees are recognized.
The rule applies to all permanent civil servants as well as contract workers employed by general government entities, independent authorities, local authorities (both municipal and regional), social security funds and all state sector entities, regardless of whether they were hired before or after January 1, 2016, when the freeze came into force.
