Double standards at play
It is certain that the senseless pay raises achieved by the workers of state-owned companies and utilities by blackmailing the entire country must be curbed, but the Greek people cannot help but wonder at the double standards being applied by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Salary hikes of up to 80 percent for judges have not only provoked the public’s consternation because they are so high, but also because the decision was made by the judges themselves. The people remember that in previous cases concerning workers’ back pay, the finance minister was not as open-handed. He did not grant money to all those who were entitled to it, but only to those who went to court over it. In contrast, when it came to salary increases for judicial officials, it took one person going to court for everyone in the sector to benefit. In times of financial prudence, it only makes sense to cut expenditures. But the issue here is that these cutbacks must be equitable and the double standards being applied by the ministry in this particular case undermine any efforts at true reform.
