2024-02-20 19:32:24
Question K.K.E. for the serious understaffing in the municipalities of the whole country to the Minister of the Interior:
The municipalities of the whole country are facing serious problems from the ever-increasing understaffing of their services.
The tragic lack of staff in all municipal services not only has negative effects on the service of citizens, but also leads to the intensification of the work of the remaining staff, which is one of the reasons for the increase in occupational accidents – accidents in the sector. Because of it, municipal administrations make extensive use, even abuse, of the legislative provision on “parallel duties” that they assign to employees.
After the multi-year hiring ban, the limited hiring-to-departure ratio of 5:1, 3:1, and even today’s statutory ratio of 1:1, one hire to one exit, does not apply.
Despite the fact that the municipalities send the annual recruitment planning according to the departures to the ministry, no tenders are held for the recruitment of permanent staff in order to strengthen their services.
We also clarify that in the annual recruitment planning, only retirements with a maximum age of 67 are understood as departures and retirements with other pension provisions with a lower age limit are not counted as departures. Such as for example workers who fall under the UAE pension scheme and retire at 58 or 60 or workers who complete 40 years of work and turn 62.
In addition, the legislative provision of Article 37 of Law 4915/2022, which obliges municipalities to exercise all legal remedies against positive court decisions that convert fixed-term private law employee contracts into open-ended contracts, prohibits the reinforcement of the services of municipalities and even with staff with many years of experience.
Finally, we should point out that in the annual mobility cycles that apply to the public sector, there is a large wave of municipal employees leaving for other public sector bodies, ministries, etc.
With the general situation that has developed, where the permanent staff of the municipalities is rapidly decreasing without being replaced, while on the contrary flexible working relationships are chosen, creating a hostage and insecurity status for most of the municipal employees, the Minister is ASKED:
– If he has met with the representatives of the workers in the municipalities in order to submit the demands of the sector and if not, an immediate meeting has been scheduled.
– What measures will he take in order to address the tragic lack of staff in all municipal services and for municipalities to be able to recruit permanent staff according to their needs.
– It will proceed with the permanentization of all municipal contractors with state funding.
The MPs
Christos Katsotis
Nikos Ambatielos
Exarch Nikos
Nikos Karathanasopoulos
Cinnamon Liana
Comninaka Maria
Giorgos Lamproulis
Marinos Giorgos
Metaxas Vassilis
Papanastasis Nikos
Leonidas Stoltidis
Syntyhakis Manolis
Tsokanis Christos