The dust is beginning to settle in Athens following the approval of mass layoffs of government workers by the parliament on Sunday.
Over 15,000 people face redundancy by the end of next year in a move which overturns the constitutional guarantee for civil servants to have a job for life.
The move was was necessary for Greece to receive 8.8 billion euros of bailout money from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, but opinion remains divided on the streets in Athens.
“Look, some people have to go if they got in based on fake qualifications and their connections to politicians. They’ll do well to go home. It’s about time this disgrace was put to an end,” said Christos Hatyziliades.
One man felt the layoffs were counterproductive: “When a person who does their job is fired, you can’t be happy about it. Because after that, what kind of growth can we talk about when you don’t have consumers?”
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor
via Greece: 15,000 public sector jobs cut to secure bailout money | euronews, world news.
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Parliament Passes Plan for Layoffs in Greece
Greece’s Parliament late Sunday approved a contentious plan to dismiss 15,000 civil servants by the end of next year as part of a new package of economic measures that the country must enforce to clinch crucial financing from foreign creditors.
Euro zone officials meeting in Brussels on Monday are expected to approve the release of about 2.8 billion euros, or about $3.65 billion, in loans. The money had been due in March but was delayed after negotiations between Greece and the so-called troika of its foreign lenders stalled over the lenders’ demands for civil service cuts.
The troika, which comprises the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, has been meting out aid in exchange for belt-tightening measures. They are to decide on another six-billion-euro installment in May, assuming Greece adopts further reforms, including an overhaul of a tax collection system.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor
via Parliament Passes Plan for Layoffs in Greece – NYTimes.com.
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