Judges’ chief dismisses 150-euro wage restoration as ‘modest tips’

The head of the judges’ union has dismissed as “modest tips” the extra 150 euros per month that justices will receive over the next 36 months as part of a reinstatement of the wages they lost over the last two years.

A court decision earlier this year ruled that the government should restore judges wages, which were cut in 2012, and repay the amount they had lost in the intervening period.

Due to fiscal pressures, the government has decided to pay out half of the amount owed over the next three years, with the rest to follow. The head of the Judges and Prosecutors’ Union, Vassiliki Thanou-Christofilou said this was not enough.

“The executive is compromising the prestige and reliability of judges,” said the Supreme Court judge at the union’s general assembly on Saturday. “These are modest tips of 150 euros a month.”

“I am fighting every day for the full restoration of trust between the state and judges, which remain strong despite the friction,” responded Justice Minister Charalambos Athanasiou.