A decision to reduce the public sector by 150,000 employees (or more) by 2015 was agreed upon by Finance Minister Yannis Stounaras and Administrative Reform Minister Antonis Manitakis, following a meeting on ways to effect cuts in state spending. Reports quoted both ministers as saying that this challenge will be achieved mainly through a different "reserve labour" scheme, specifically, retirement of employees to close to retirement age.
At the same time, both ministers clarified that evaluation of structures and public sector staff, along with a decrease in operational expenditures and costs aim at a more effective, smaller and better quality public sector.
The reduction in the state, which concerns the core and wider public sector, will result from the difference between salary and average pension, the latter being a portion of the salary. According to senior officials of the two ministries, a target of 15,000 less employees in the public sector remains valid for the current year.
The officials did note, however, that an approval by the EC-ECB-IMF troika is pending over this issue, the representatives of which are scheduled to return to Athens on Sept. 5. (A delegation of experts is also expected to arrive next week).
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