End of lifetime jobs at utilities
New employees at listed public utilities will no longer enjoy permanent status, Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis declared in an interview published in the Sunday edition of Apogevmatini newspaper. «There are… former state-owned enterprises that have been listed on the stock exchange, operate in competitive sectors and must, gradually, increasingly operate under the rules of competition among private enterprises,» Alogoskoufis said. «There are remnants of state dependence from the past. But gradually, and without impinging on the rights of current employees – as is taking place in current discussions over voluntary retirement by OTE employees – the enterprises, which face competition, will adapt to the conditions in force in the private sector,» he added. New employees will be insured under the Social Security Fund (IKA). Such a proposal is an anathema to the powerful unions in companies such as OTE and PPC, the dominant electricity company, and Alogoskoufis knows that. That is why, in the same interview, he stresses that private sector employees are well protected by labor laws. He also adds that, at least for a while, hirings will continue to be made through the Supreme Personnel Selection Council (ASEP), just as in the state administration, a process that is supposed to ensure transparency but has been criticized as too cumbersome. Alogoskoufis did say that the ultimate goal was to harmonize the hiring procedures with private sector practices. Alogoskoufis also referred to legislation on public-private partnerships, which is to be unveiled over the next two weeks, and to the government’s privatization plans. He said that the government will make a decision on bids for Olympic Airlines by the end of May.
