Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who ordered the firing of all 2,656 workers at the national broadcaster ERT to satisfy international lenders, is going to follow up with the dismissal of another 800 civil servants from state organizations which are being merged or scrapped altogether.
Some 17 entities are to be shut down and another 53 will be merged under the government’s plans. and only 500 of the 1,300 workers will be kept while the rest will go into a scheme under which they will be paid a portion of their salary for up to a year before being let go.
Athens has agreed with the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) to shed 4,000 workers by the end of this year and 15,000 by the end of 2014.
According to documents seen by Kathimerini, 216 people are employed at the 17 organizations which will be shut down. They will all lose their jobs. Another 1,107 people work in the 53 bodies that will be merged. These include the Organization Against Drugs (OKANA), the Therapy Center for Dependent Individuals (KETHEA) and the National Organization for Medicines (EOF). The National Library and 44 regional public libraries will come under the management of a single organization.
The firing of at least 2,000 civil servants this summer had been one of Greece’s commitments, and a personal pledge to the Troika by Samaras so Greece could receive its next bailout loan of 3.3 billion euros ($4.4 billion.) During the Troika’s visit to Athens, officials also pressured the government over removing restrictions to sackings in the private sector.
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