Labor Ministry rushes into dealing with pension backlog
The Labor Ministry is looking to break a political and social deadlock the government finds itself in over a long list of overdue new pensions that has put it under pressure from creditors, the opposition and society in general.
To get the process started, the ministry has already sent figures relating to payments and the clearance of expired debts to technical teams from the country’s creditors – in Athens preparing for the arrival of their superiors – and the State Audit Council for inspection.
Moreover, it was revealed on Wednesday at a committee discussion in Parliament that Greece’s current bailout deal dictates that an independent authority must be involved in probing the data that will allow the funds to be unlocked, and that the State Audit Council was selected for this role.
Also on Wednesday, the Single Social Security Fund (EFKA) issued a circular on so-called “successive” insurance (regarding workers insured over time by two or more separate social security funds that later merged into EFKA), which provides parameters so that the 21,000 or so pending pensions can be issued.
It is estimated that once those parameters are incorporated into EFKA’s online system, probably next week, the first 10,000 outstanding pensions in that category will be released.
