Gov’t seeks OK from lenders to hire extra civil servants
Greece and its lenders are in talks about the possibility of the government being allowed to hire 11,000 more public sector workers than has been agreed with the institutions, it was revealed Friday.
“We are asking to make an extra 11,000 hires,” said Alternate Minister for Administrative Reform Christoforos Vernardakis. “We are trying to remain within the constraints of the budget and to give the public sector, which has serious shortages, a boost,” he added.
Vernardakis was questioned about reports that the wife of Giorgos Tsipras, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s cousin, had been given a job at a minister’s office but said that he was not aware of the incident, adding that if she had been transferred from another government department and the proper procedure had been followed then there was no question of a breach of ethics. Giorgos Tsipras is employed at the Foreign Ministry.
