Filenews 20 June 2023 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Finally, the parties, with the exception of DISY, succumbed to the pressure – appeals of the Government and proceeded yesterday to unfreeze 1,851 first appointment positions in the public and wider public sector.
After three sessions behind closed doors, the majority of the members of the Finance Committee, despite initial reservations about the large number of posts, gave the green light to the request of the Ministry of Finance. After the new development, the way is opened to fill these positions. However, due to time-consuming procedures it can take up to two years to fill these positions.
Of the total 1,851 positions, 1011 are in education, police and fire service. Specifically, 331 positions concern education and were deemed necessary for the full staffing of school units for 2023-2024.
Also, 227 places are reserved for the police, to cover, among others, the needs of the Vasilikos energy center, the Menogia Reception Center, the marinas of Larnaka, Limassol, Protaras and Ayia Napa, and the police detention centers of Morphou and Famagusta.
In addition, 219 positions concern the fire service, to meet the needs of the fire stations of the Energy Center in Vasilikos, Ayia Napa, Moniatis and Evrychou, the Zenon Coordination Center and the Unified Coordinating Operations Center of the Fire Service.
The other 183 posts are secretarial staff to meet the needs of the public service. According to the Ministry of Finance, of the remaining 714 positions, 525 will cover the needs of ministries, deputy ministries and independent services, 159 will cover positions in 19 public law organizations and 30 positions will be allocated to 13 Local Government Authorities.
DISY shouts...
DISY once again expressed its disagreement, through MP Onoufrios Koullas, stating that the parties of the coalition government together with AKEL approved the release of almost 2,000 new hires in the public sector. As he said, DISY recognizes that there are needs and was ready to release a smaller number of positions. "We demanded a stricter assessment and prioritization, but we were concerned to see that the government took a completely rigid stance," he added. Mr. Koullas expressed his concern about the cost that will be borne by the taxpayer, as this was also found by the Fiscal Council.
"Already the increase in the wage bill and other permanent inelastic costs has been pointed out by the rating agencies. We do not agree with this return to the practices of the past," he said.
On the other side, the deputy chairman of the Finance Committee and DIKO MP Chrysis Pantelides said that these positions are the product of an agreement of the previous government, pointing out that they were included in the 2023 budget by the previous government. He added that for the party it was a position of consistency to vote in favour of these positions (since it also voted in favour of the '23 budget) and expressed satisfaction that there was the required majority.
AKEL MP Andreas Kafkalias said that the issue is for the state to function effectively and respond to its role and the needs of society. As he said, any gaps that exist for permanent needs in the public and wider public sector should not be covered by the method of purchasing services, a choice followed by the previous Government, burdening public finances.
