Galery

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The government is planning an early retirement for approximately 60,000 public workers in the next two and a half years. This measure is necessary because the Greek coalition government does not intend to resort to direct cuts, which are the fastest way to reduce the costs in the public sector. The new plan envisages the establishment of a labour reserve of public workers close to retirement age, who will receive 60% of their salaries. 30,000 people in 2013 and another 30,000 in 2014 should leave work in this way.

Public workers who will be involved in this programme will not be affected by another increase in the retirement age and will be able to retire after two years in the labour reserve. Public workers filed for retirement and with 25 years of service up to 31/12/2010, and who are over 55 years old will be eligible to retire before the age of 67. In these cases, those favoured by this measure will be able to retire at the age of 60 instead of 65, which is valid now, or at the age of 67, which is planned with this year’s changes.

Eleftheros Typos newspaper gives an example of how early retirement and labour reserve would be applied in practice.

            A public worker with 29 years of service:
Salary.................................................................................................... € 1983
Salary after his/her introduction into the labour reserve (60% of the original value of his/her monthly salary)................................................................................................... € 1190
Social security contributions paid by the state...................................... €   143
Final value of the labour reserve for the state budget per month........ € 1380
Pension after three years in the labour reserve................................... € 1276
Salary if the state pays 100% of the social security contributions of the public worker in the labour reserve................................................................................................. € 1790
 
In addition to early retirement, the government is considering dismissing approximately three thousand people by the end of 2012. Either they have committed offences related to their position, or they are people with health problems who the public sector considers already a burden. The Greek media read that the disabled and people with developmental disabilities holding positions corresponding to their abilities are expected to be dismissed first.