Hospitals in Athens are spending millions of euros every year to hire private support staff for menial tasks but the workers are allegedly being paid extremely low wages and are being asked to perform a number of duties, Kathimerini has learnt.

Evangelismos hospital is due to spend 8 million euros on private support staff this year. Geniko Kratiko has budgeted for an outlay of 3.3 million euros on private cleaning firms this year. The Alexandra hospital is expected to pay 2 million euros.

However, complaints have been filed in recent years by people working for private companies that have contracts with state hospitals. The employees, often foreign nationals, claim that they take home only 350 to 400 euros per month and that their social security contributions are not properly recorded.

The head of the union for cleaners and maids in Attica, Vlassia Papathanassi, told Kathimerini that workers are often employed to perform a number of duties such as cleaning, guarding and working in a hospital’s kitchen.