Saturday May 18, 2013 Search
Weather | Athens
31o C
19o C
News
Business
Comment
Life
Sports
Community
Survival Guide
Greek Edition
Cuts to pensions, salaries, civil service jobs agreed ahead of Samaras talks

Finance Ministry officials are to hold a new meeting on Monday in a bid to finalize proposals for 11.5 billion euros in spending cuts ahead of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s meetings with European leaders this week.

Samaras is due to meet Eurogroup chief and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker in Athens on Wednesday. He is due to travel to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and to Paris for a meeting with French President Francois Hollande on Saturday.

Merkel and Hollande are due to meet in Berlin on Thursday.

Samaras hopes to have the package of 11.5 billion euros in measures demanded by the troika ready to present to his counterparts and the indications are that the proposals for the savings will be in place.

Following a meeting at the ministry late on Friday, it was revealed that 10.8 billion euros’ worth of measures had been agreed by officials and that the remaining 700 million woul be identified at Monday’s meeting. The measures, however, still need the approval of the three coalition leaders before they are put to Parliament.

The bulk of the cuts, some 4 billion euros, will come from pensions and welfare benefits. In terms of the social payments, some will be reduced and others scrapped altogether and the government will introduce stricter income and assets criteria for those who will be eligible for benefits in the future.

In terms of reduction to pensions, the government has yet to decide on which of two sliding scales will be used to calculate the cuts, which will range from 2 to 15 percent. In either case, retirement pay below 700 euros per month will not be affected. Supplementary pensions, however, are to be slashed by up to 35 percent.

This would be the fourth cut to pensions since 2010, when Greece signed up to the EU-IMF bailout. Pensions have been reduced by up to 40 percent since then.

Hefty cuts to salaries at public enterprises, or DEKOs as they are known, are also being lined up. Sources said that the reduction is likely to reach between 30 and 35 percent. The average annual salary at DEKOs is currently 31,000 euros but will be reduced to about 21,000, which will save the public coffers 250 million euros.

Sources said that regular civil servants would also face further cuts to their salaries. Over the last two years, they have seen their two extra monthly payments for Easter, summer and Christmas whittled down, but according to the latest plans, these will be phased out completely. The Finance Ministry has not ruled out cuts to basic salaries in the public sector as well.

The government is also set to announce the gradual removal of 34,000 civil servants who will be placed in a labor reserve scheme, where they will receive a percentage of their salary for the next 12 or 24 months and will no longer be employed in the public sector.

ekathimerini.com , Monday August 20, 2012 (11:22)  
No damage or injuries as bomb explodes close to Greek embassy in Libya
As visit to China concludes, Samaras offers incentives to invest in Greece
New Democracy, SYRIZA trade barbs over how to tackle Golden Dawn
Greece´s June target of 2,000 civil service redundancies may be flexible
FINANCE
SME interest in subsidies beats forecast
The Development Ministry announced on Friday that a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises have expressed interest in the European Union-funded program for their support. A total...
BUSINESS
Troika charters map of action for credit sector
The revised memorandum of cooperation between Athens and its international creditors does not allow for the participation of entities belonging to the broader public sector in the recapitali...
Inside Business
SOCCER
Atromitos beats PAOK, PAS downs Asteras
The start of the Super League playoffs for Greece’s second spot in next season’s Champions League has complicated things, as the teams that started as underdogs beat the favorites at home on...
SOCCER
AEK set for liquidation and third tier
AEK Athens said on Tuesday it was preparing to declare bankruptcy and seek relegation to the third division. AEK was relegated from the Super League for the first time in its 89-year history...
Inside Sports
COMMENTARY
We’re not out of the woods
The gradual arrival of summer usually brings a sense of well-being and this year it seems to confirm the belief that Greeks are beginning to change their stance toward their new state of bei...
EDITORIAL
A disgrace to Parliament
The events that unfolded in Parliament on Friday, when a Golden Dawn deputy was ejected for hurling insults at his peers, should be a cause for serious concern regarding the direction that t...
Inside Comment
SPONSORED LINK: FinanzNachrichten.de
 RECENT NEWS
1. No damage or injuries as bomb explodes close to Greek embassy in Libya
2. As visit to China concludes, Samaras offers incentives to invest in Greece
3. New Democracy, SYRIZA trade barbs over how to tackle Golden Dawn
4. Greece´s June target of 2,000 civil service redundancies may be flexible
5. Police believe second suspect in 1-million-euro Larissa robbery also prison escapee
6. Ministry plans to increase university academics´ working hours
more news
Today
This Week
1. Muslim Association of Greece receives letter containing sick threats
2. A disgrace to Parliament
3. We’re not out of the woods
4. Greek lawyers start submitting case files electronically
5. Daughter rapist confesses, is remanded in pretrial custody
6. Man confesses to murder of woman in Porto Germeno
Today
This Week
1. Olympiakos's Euroleague basketball win shows Greeks can 'reach the peak,' says President Papoulias
2. An encouraging sign for Greek universities
3. The vision thing
4. Golden Dawn MP ejected from Parl't after 'Heil Hitler' incident [UPDATE]
5. Greek economy shrank by 5.3% in Q1 of 2013 as recession continues
6. Do trophies mean anything after all?
   Find us ...
  ... on
Twitter
     ... on Facebook   
About us  |  Subscriptions  |  Advertising  |  Contact us  |  Athens Plus  |  International Herald Tribune  |  RSS
Copyright © 2013, H KAΘHMEPINH All Rights Reserved.