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Three months before the local and European elections, the Greek government has resumed the payment of the allowance for hazardous work in the public sector. By decision of Deputy Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras, a legal order has been enforced which resumes the payment of the allowance for harmful and dangerous work to the amount of 150 euro per month to almost all civil servants in the country.

In particular, the change affects employees with full-time employment contracts, apprentices and employees with permanent contracts in state institutions as well as the following categories:

- All state employees with permanent contracts

- All employees in municipalities and regional governments

- All employees in state enterprises

- Primary and secondary school teachers

- Employees in the administration of courts and prosecutors' offices, land and mortgage registers

- Doctors working in the health centres of small towns

- Employees in parliament

- Administrative staff of independent bodies, securities commissions and the commission on accounting and auditing standards

- Employees of the regional associations of municipalities, the central union of Greek municipalities and the union of Greek regions

- Employees and religious functionaries of legal persons in the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ and other churches and religions that are recognized under Article 13 of the Greek Constitution and are funded by the state budget.

Despite the obvious nature of the order, the Ministry is adamant that this is not a return to the old habits, emphasizing that the allocation of the allowance will insignificantly affect the budget.

The communication of the department also states that, anyway, the allowance has been paid to some professional categories, which were identified in 2012. According to it, the order allows other categories in the public sector to receive the allowance, as the corresponding professional obligations in the private sector are considered harmful and dangerous work.

The Ministry states that the change allows those public institutions which, for procedural reasons, have not submitted applications for the payment of the allowance for hazardous work to their employees, whose professional duties meet the relevant requirements, can now do so.

"The change affects a very small number of employees of state-controlled entities that have not submitted their applications within the term specified by law," as stated by sources from the Ministry.

According to them, the change aims at eliminating the unequal treatment of staff of certain institutions who do not receive the allowance while their counterparts in other services with the same professional duties receive it.