Greek state workers plan to rally against job-cut law

Greece’s biggest union for state-employed workers will stage a rally outside Parliament on April 28 as lawmakers meet to approve plans to fire 15,000 workers.

The rally will be held at 6:30 p.m. as the bill is debated, according to a statement from Athens-based ADEDY, which represents about half a million Greek civil servants. The union also plans to picket the Finance Ministry in Athens on Friday.

Greece’s government and international creditors reached an agreement on conditions to receive more aid, including firing state workers, on April 15, paving the way for the disbursement of the 2.8 billion euros ($3.7 billion) remaining from a previous review. It’s the first time the government has agreed to dismiss workers employed by the state.

Identifying redundant positions and adopting a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000 civil servants by 2015 is a requirement of international lenders to release further aid payments. Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has said the public sector workforce will decline by 160,000 people by 2015, meeting the minimum required.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said earlier this month that the decision reached with the so-called troika of creditors — the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central bank — will allow the country to replace the dismissed employees with younger, better-skilled staff. 

Source: ekathimerini.com