POMENS: Grant of Special Electoral Compensation to Armed Forces Personnel

2023-05-17 16:51:52

Dear Mr. Ministers, Honorable etc. Members of Parliament of the Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Honorable etc. leaders,

1. The Panhellenic Federation of Military Unions – P.OM.ENS, informs you following the relevant letter of the Military Union of the Southern Sector of Athens (E.S.PE.EN.T.A.), about the unpleasant situation experienced by the personnel of the Armed Forces due to their obviously unjust exclusion from the granting of the Special Electoral Compensation.

2. In particular:

a. In accordance with (a) and (b) in this regard, the Regular Leave of Absences of the Armed Forces have been revoked and it is prohibited to grant them during the pre-election period, from April 22, 2023 until the date of the elections on May 21, 2023, making them on standby until their completion. In the event of repeated elections, this will be repeated, depriving the staff of the possibility of receiving Regular Leave for a period longer than two months, being in a state of alert for their smooth conduct.

b. With paragraph 1 of article 131 of (c) of the same, as amended by (d) of the related one, the beneficiaries of the Special Electoral Compensation are expanded to include a very large part of the State apparatus involved in the preparation – conduct and security of the election process, where, among others, the Ministries of Shipping and Island Policy – ​​Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the National Printing Office and other bodies are included, excluding to our great surprise the Ministry of National Defense, whose officials are on the lookout for any electoral contests required.

3. Following the above, reasonable questions arise about the way to deal with military personnel, specifically:

a. Why are Armed Forces personnel exempt from active service benefits?

b. Why is the Ministry of Finance once again demonstrating its disrespect for the officers of the Armed Forces, as happened with the granting of 600.00 euros to the personnel of the Security Forces to deal with illegal immigration flows (who rightly received it), but also too many other cases that are not present to analyze?

c. Since the personnel of the Armed Forces are not entitled to the Special Electoral Allowance, because they do not contribute to the security of the electoral process, as some deliberately suggest, because these personnel are put on the alert and cannot obtain the Regular Leave as often as required to hold elections?

Dear Mr. Ministers, Honorable etc. Members of Parliament of the Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Honorable etc. leaders,

4. Such tactics of degrading our work leave the leadership of the Ministry of Finance exposed. As the Panhellenic Federation of Military Unions – P.OM.ENS, we consider it our duty to recognize morally and financially, the continuous contribution of the Armed Forces to the Motherland, treating the Greek Military, equally with other workers.

5. Subject handler: Vice President of Personnel Affairs, Deputy Chief of Staff (TSE) Nikolaos Panagiotidis, tel. [phone].

Sincerely

For the Board of Directors