In a move viewed by many as a pre-electoral bonus, Finance Minister Minister Euclid Tsakalotos tabled a law giving raises to employees of the finance ministry and of services overseen by it, including the Independent Authority for Public Revenues (AADE, the tax bureau), the Legal Council of the State, and others.
According to a report in the Athens daily Kathimerini, representatives of the civil service believe that the wage hikes are of a pre-electoral, and trade unionists nature, as the increases are being offered only to newer public servants, who were hired or transferred to the ministry after 1 November 2011.
The basic argument of the ministry is that the bill, which will have an annual cost of 10.5mn euros, restores justice and equality between newer employees and those with seniority.
The introductory report on the bill states that the measure has been introduced, “in compliance with the constitutional principle of equality, given the fact that it involves employees who perform the same tasks and have similar responsibilities with those who were already employed before that critical date.”
