The bill was completed in the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, which terminates the process of deporting first appointment positions, with participants in the discussion emphasizing the need to speed up the filling procedures and the increase in productivity in the State.
According to a note submitted by the Ministry of Finance, the frozen first appointment positions directly affected by any passage of the bill amount to 977 positions for 2025.
The President of the Financial Council, Michalis Persianis, said the law appears to have restrained the state payroll for about 3 years, and then it appeared that there were "windows and rear doors" that bypass the law. He therefore noted that there was a large increase in extraordinary and indefinite periods.
He noted that some departments will continue to say that "they are always under -staffed, whatever they hire", calling for sketching statements for under -staffing.
Referring to the need to increase productivity in the State, he said that the ratio of 3: 5 is valid compared to the private sector, where a job that takes 3 days in the private sector requires 5 days.
He stressed that the opening of any new position should be preceded by a substantial memorandum by the Director of each Service, describing what measures he took in relation to the organizational chart, procedures, business culture, in order not to need additional individuals.
However, he noted that existing legislation is causing tremendous delays, stating that the recruitment of "back door" deprives not only the opportunity to contain costs but also the control of legislative and executive power.
In addition, he noted that we are in the 1st of the 16 quarters of the new evaluation of the financial course of the Republic of Cyprus under the new budgetary rules and it seems that the course of spending is already significantly higher than our commitments. As a result, he advised special attention to inelastic expenses, as he said, "we may have to make unpleasant decisions in 2027."
He also requested that the IMF report on state payroll be publicized.
The President of the Council of Economy and Competitiveness, Dimitris Georgiadis, said that the most proper process is to evaluate vacancies through the budget approval process. He added that it is important for the government to be able to effectively exercise executive power and not to impose additional procedures that make its work difficult.
It underlined the importance of fiscal stability and tax burden on the economy. "Suddenly to divert a significant number of positions may threaten fiscal stability and impose additional burden on households and businesses," he said.
Speaking of other impact on the economy, he said that we are living in full -time conditions, with important areas difficult to find in a workforce and questioned what problems can be caused by the pumping of thousands of jobs by the government.
Mr Georgiadis raised the issue of the benefit given back to society by opening these positions and spoke in turn about the importance of evaluating productivity in public service, as well as the new realities shaped by digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Bureaucracy and delay by existing law
The position expressed by representatives of public and wider public sector workers is that the existing process is bureaucratic and leads to long delays in filling in positions, thereby recruiting with other methods that lead to the deregulation of labor relations.
PASYDY Secretary General Stratis Matthaiou said that PASYDY was discussing with the ESA to simplify recruitment procedures and the current freezing is an obstacle to this effort. He noted that if some positions should be deducted, this should be done when the budget is approved, and said that all positions requested to date have been dismissed and therefore the measure "offers nothing. No added value, unnecessary bureaucracy, delays the already slow filling process. "
SIDIKEK-PEO Secretary-General Nikos Grigoriou said that those who confuse the issue of deportation with the issue of controlling positions are "disorienting". He said that parliamentary control was exercised at the time of the budget and everything that is done "is" bureaucracy and more expensive costs for an organization ", demanding that the distortion be stopped. He also added that in the event that the abolition is not abolished, the purchase of services and the deregulation in the public sector is favored.
OOO-SEK Secretary-General Andreas Elias said that the legislation attributed only the first years, because it was its target. He then added, other forms of employment increased significantly. "There is an increase in emergencies and indefinitely over time," he said. He added that "at the end of the day, this procedure suffers due to delay and chain links until approval", noting that they do not propose unaccounted for staffing, but accelerating the procedures of the necessary recruitment.
Representatives of OELMEK, OLTEK and POED have noted the high percentage of workers at all levels of education working with a non -permanent status, as they said, causing problems in the timely staffing of schools and agreed with the proposal to abolish applicable law.
A spokesman for the Municipalities Union proposed to be applied to the public service that it applies to municipalities, where a 40%limit was implemented, which led to the self -regulation of municipalities in terms of recruitment.
A KEVE spokesman expressed the position of the Chamber in favor of the abolition of bureaucratic procedures, provided that there is sufficient scrutiny by the competent authorities. "Mandatory approval by the House adds unnecessary delay, does not provide added value," he said, referring to the Draghi report on productivity increased, proposing a more flexible and efficient framework.
We want to simplify the recruitment system process, the Ministry says
Elena Azina, director of the Department of Administration and Personnel of the Ministry of Finance, agreed that the proposal to abolish the law alone would not immediately change the situation immediately. "We want to simplify the process of recruitment system in the State," he said, noting, however, that the abolition of freezing will help, as the ministry is aware of vacancies from the beginning of the year and will be announced in the first quarter.
He also expressed the intention to reduce promotion positions, as there are sections with an "upside down pyramid", with more promotion positions than first promotion positions.
He also noted that the abolition of the existing process would release labor from the Department to deal with other studies that will lead to the simplification of procedures.
In addition, he said that from 2014 onwards, 1,500-2,000 seats were diverted each year and questioned how effective it was, noting that the issue of freezing did not lead to the abolition of positions, but to prioritize the positions announced.
He also said that the IMF report mentions that the number of civil servants in relation to the average of other countries is not tall. On the contrary, compared to private sector salaries, it was recorded that public salaries are 27% higher, with the exception of management positions, where wages are lower. Responding to a question by the President of the Commission on the percentage of the state payroll in the budget, Mrs Azina said she was at 28-31%.
Time The procedure followed, says the chairman of the committee
The President of the Commission, DIKO MP Christian Erotokritou, in her statements after the Commission's debate, said that the freezing of the posts affect 977 positions, only 2.5% of all posts in the public service. He noted that, although the process before the House is not time -consuming, the process that must be preceded is very time -consuming and creates more obstacles than it is trying to solve.
"Problems in the Public Service are enough, they are large and do not allow the public service to deliver on the quality it must and the time of its work to the taxpayer," he said, adding that the procedures that the public service is forced to implement and the tools at its disposal and the education that should not have to do so.
As for this bill, he said that 977 posts do not create the problem. "The problems of the public service are elsewhere" and in collaboration with all bodies, the debate on modernization must begin.
DISY will not support the bill
In his statements, DISY MP Onoufrios Kalla said that the Democratic Alarm is not supporting the bill that will remove control over new jobs in the State. "We are ready to approve urgent needs on the basis of evaluation, if the Treasury brings them, and to exclude sensitive areas or organizations in competition."
He added that any positions in the State should be evaluated the need to pay, especially at a time when we invest in the digital state. "We should not go back to the old, nor go on painful measures, such as taxes and cuts."
Called to comment on the fact that to date all positions have been approved, he said that "they are approved by the House because it is preceded by the Ministry of Finance. This is what we want to do, "he said, noting that the bill will also be abolished by the Ministry of Finance" and this is wrong ".
Permanent needs must be covered by permanent employees, AKEL says
Within the committee, AKEL MP Andreas Kafkalias said it is clear that permanent needs must be met by permanent employees, as this is "in the state, society, workers", criticizing the present and previous government, which allowed them to "
He added that no one disagrees that productivity should be evaluated in the State and the state's inelastic expenditure, and noted that the cause of evil is not that 977 positions will not be deported, but "everything else we had to do in previous years and we have not done".
No position was rejected since 2013 by legislative power, ELAM says
ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou said that no position was rejected in 2013 by the legislative power, noting that the ministry "is perfect or no control by the House is being controlled, or it is impossible to be done".
The most productive public service wants DIPA, impossible for ecologists for parliamentary control
DIPA MP Marinos Mousioutas, in his statements after the committee, said the law offered when it was created in 2013, but along the way, with the approval of all the posts coming to the House, what was achieved was the delay. He added that the abolition would leave the justification of departments that they do not have staff, as they can immediately fill in the budget -approved positions.
He added that the point is to make the public service more productive and put as an example of the DIPA's proposal to the Institutions Committee to differentiate government examinations to take place every 2 years and to regulate the right to have the right to each successful candidate within the two years to move to another position on the same scale.
Ecologists MP Stavros Papadouris said that parliamentary control was impossible and costly, as presented.
