Archive:Public employment - Greece
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived.
- Source: Ministry of the Spanish presidency 2010, publication "Public employment in the European Union Member States" .
This article is part of a set of background articles and introduces public employment in Greece.
Regional and administrative organisation
Introduction
Greece is a Parliamentary Republic whose current Constitution (1975) sets out the division of powers (legislative, executive and judiciary) and supports civil freedoms and social rights.
System of government
The Head of State is the President of the Republic, with eminently formal functions, elected by the Parliament for a 5-year term. Executive Power has been exercised by the Prime Minister and Government since 1986. The electoral system favours single party Governments whereby the figure of Prime Minister usually coincides with the leader of the majority party. Following a vote of confidence from the Parliament, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic along with the rest of the members of the government.
A single chamber Parliament made up of 300 members, who are re-elected every 4 years, exercises Legislative Power. The Laws that are passed are enacted by the President. The Judiciary Power is independent from the legislative and executive powers.
Regional organisation
Greece is divided into 13 Regions (diamerismata), which are sub-divided into Departments (nomoi). Monte Atos is an autonomous district. The Municipalities or demos (cities with over 100,000 inhabitants) are governed by a Mayor and a City Council, and the Communities of 300 to 10,000 inhabitants are governed by a President and Community Council.
Public administration
The administrative system is classical, developed hierarchically from the Minister downwards, passing through Directorate-Generals. However, there is some functional decentralisation in Agencies and Public Law Organizations (especially Public Establishments with more than 50% of the employees).
Public Employment Structure
Legal Basis: The Civil Servants’ Code regulates the status of public employees except some cases, which require special conditions or are subject to constant changes. There are two types of employees: civil servants with lifelong tenure (in a statutory position) and contractual staff (with a fixed-term contract). Temporary staff is hired for 3 to 8 months to cover temporary staffing requirements. Scientific, technical or auxiliary staff recruited under a private law contract also has a permanent employment relationship.
80% of issues related to contractual staff with an open-ended contract are regulated in the aforementioned Code (recruitment, mobility, dismissal, pay scale, etc.) They have almost the same rights and obligations as civil servants with lifelong tenure. Differences lie in issues related to their assessment, promotion, health and social security system and pension schemes. Temporary contractual staff does not enjoy the same rights but some benefits are the same, such as maternity leave.
According to the level of studies required for entry in the civil service, statutory staff are classified into special position categories which require studies: University Degree, Technical Studies, Secondary Studies and finally, compulsory studies.
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT MANAGING BODY: The Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization organises human resources through the Directorate-Generals for: Administrative Organization and Procedures; Staff Status; Administrative Reform.
Statistics: The total number of employees is 369,800, (25% in the Central government, 23% in local government and 52% in Public Law Establishments).
Rights, obligations, principles and values
Civil servants have the same political and social rights as other citizens. Their working week, with a few exceptions (such as the armed forces, prisons, courts, universities and others) is 5 days and 37.5 hours a week. Since 2006, they have enjoyed flexi-working times.
The new Civil Servants’ Code sets out unpaid family leave of two years for the care of children under the age of 6. Furthermore, parents of children under the age of 2 work 2 hours less a day and mothers with children between the ages of 2 and 4 also work 1 hour less. Parents may opt for paid leave of 9 months for childcare, which is incompatible with the above.
Career-based system - Training
The Constitution determines that civil servants holding posts shall be permanent so long as these posts exist. They may not be dismissed with the exception of those retiring upon attainment of the age limit or by court judgement, which is also applicable to open-ended contractual staff. The exceptions approved by law are: staff or senior positions outside the hierarchy, ambassadors, employees of the Presidency, Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy Ministers. To enter statutory positions, civil servants must spend 2 years on probation, during which time they may be dismissed.
Dismissal may be imposed as a sanction for disciplinary breaches, such as refusing to respect the Constitution, lack of loyalty to the State and Democracy, breach of service, serious insubordination, etc.
The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for the training policy, along with the National Centre for Public Administration, which analyses training needs, and other specialised departmental centres.
Remuneration
Since 1997, there have been pay increases to bring the civil service in line with the private sector, with a new pay method based on a series of 36 salary scales according to each job category. Each scale is broken down into 18 levels, each one with a base salary. Employees change level automatically every two years. Contractual employees’ salaries are set by collective agreements concluded between trade unions, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry for Finance. In local governments, remuneration is the same as for State civil servants.
Social dialogue and system of representation
Public employees have the right to strike and to union membership (with the exception of the police and armed forces). Collective bargaining is regulated in Law 2738/1999, and takes place annually between the Ministry of the Interior (and others if the subject concerns them) and ADEDY (Administration of Greek Civil Servant Trade Unions). The main topics of negotiation are: salaries, training, modernisation of the social security system, union rights, the working week and mobility. Agreements are not binding on administrations, except those concerning training, social security and union rights.
Senior civil servants
There is no formal SCS status in Greece although there are some special conditions. (Summary Table)
Senior Civil Servants are recruited internally through examinations conducted by the Greek National School of Public Administration or by the Personnel Selection Board. Appointment is for a 3-year term which may be extended for a further 3 years, and they are under the management of their direct superiors in the organic ranking. They are assessed annually on the following criteria: knowledge, effectiveness, behaviour, etc.
The National Centre for Public Administration offers a specific training programme for SCS which focuses on the command of foreign languages and training in this field.
They do not have any extra pay apart from the SCS bonus derived from their participation in certain Collective Councils. They usually work full-time without flexi-working times or part-time work. They have limited mobility.
Recent reforms and prospects
A public administration reform programme is currently being implemented (2007-2013), backed by the European Social Fund, with the following measures: establishment of quality policies through the modernisation of the regulatory framework; reform of administrative structures and procedures; improvement of human resource management; combat inequality in the administration.