Old habits are alive and kicking
Years ago a number of unscrupulous politicians came up with a scheme for hiring public servants whose contracts were, supposedly, short-term.
They subsequently provided them with the legal framework to claim permanency when they were laid off after the contracts expired and there was simply no money left to pay their salaries. The contract workers subsequently took their plight to the Greek justice system, which due to its well-known shortfalls, takes years to rule on such cases.
It is absolutely insane for the Greek state to pay years’ worth of salaries to employees whose services it no longer requires and has laid off. It is also unfair toward other Greek citizens who pay their taxes and the thousands of unemployed who do not enjoy such protection.
It was wrong of the government to back down on this issue in the face of pressure from the justice minister, who was obviously driven by the need to protect certain interests.
