Court ruling on uniformed officers’ salaries upsets budget
The Council of State’s Compliance Commission has given the Finance Ministry eight months to adjust the salaries and pensions of uniformed officers to August 2012 levels, upsetting state budget plans in the process.
Decisions 3 and 4 issued by the three-member commission of the country’s highest administrative court dictate that the adjustment apply to the period from August 2012 up until January 2017, with the difference arising from salary and pension cuts being payable to the rightful recipients. If the government does not comply with the ruling, it will be fined.
The decision concerns all officers and pensioners of the army, navy, air force, police, fire service and port police and revives the old salary system for military officers dating from 2003.
It also comes on top of decisions reached by the CoS in 2014 and 2016, ruling that the cuts contravened Article 95 of the Constitution.
Speaking to Skai TV on Tuesday, Deputy Defense Minister Dimitris Vitsas vowed that the government would honor the ruling. “The money will be paid in 36 to 48 monthly installments, starting in the fall. It may be from October, November or December; we will see when,” he said.
