EC warning on contract jobs
The European Commission yesterday warned Greece that it was breaking EU law in excluding certain categories of state contract workers from permanent employee status. Heralding the first move in the three-step process for taking a country to the European Court, Labor and Social Affairs Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou said current legislation on contract workers failed to fully incorporate EU directives on the matter. «The Commission will send a warning letter to Greece,» Diamantopoulou said. If Athens fails to respond to the Commission’s satisfaction within two months, Brussels will send a reasoned opinion, the last step before court action. A presidential decree on granting full-time civil servant status to public sector employees on short-term contracts excludes people working for municipal authorities and state television, among others. «The government must immediately pass a new law that leaves nobody out,» Synaspismos Left Coalition Euro MP Alekos Alavanos commented.
