Greece’s Cabinet unanimously approved the government’s 2012 budget and plans to place 30,000 state workers in a labor reserve system, a government official said.
The labor reserve system, which will reduce spending on wages for those workers before they are dismissed, will mainly target workers who are due to retire in the next 24 months, said the official, who declined to be named.
About 23,000 workers nearing retirement will lose their positions. Another 7,000 will be made redundant after mergers and restructurings at dozens of state-controlled organisations, according to details of the plan
Mr Venizelos’ deputy is expected to present the draft 2012 budget to the Greek parliament on Monday, so the finance minister can attend an emergency meeting of his eurozone peers in Luxembourg. The finance ministers will assess progress on reforms that are required before Greece can secure the next €8bn tranche of its current bail-out loan.
Deficit projected at 8.5 percent of GDP
Finance Ministry said the draft budget for next year, and that the country’s deficit this year is expected to reach 8.5 percent of gross domestic product.
The ministry’s announcement Sunday said this year’s deficit was expected to stand at euro18.69 billion, higher than the targeted euro17.1 billion which would have been 7.8 percent of GDP.
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