“According to the Eurostat report, the average salary of public servants in Greece, in terms of purchasing power, ranks last among the European Union countries, continuing the downward trend of recent years and practically confirming that the memorandum measures and implementation laws were designed to ensure future low wages across all sectors,” emphasizes ADEDY in its statement.

The chart below clearly shows the difference between Greece and the other countries examined in terms of the average salary of public servants, with Greece maintaining its steady position at the bottom alongside Romania and Bulgaria. Greece holds the 27th position out of the 27 EU countries (the number 28 includes the United Kingdom, which is no longer part of the EU).

Greece holds the 27th position out of the 27 EU countries (the number 28 includes the United Kingdom, which is no longer part of the EU).

Response from the civil servants’ confederation

“The statistical depiction simply confirms the harsh reality that hundreds of thousands of public sector employees face, struggling to meet even the basic needs for their survival,” notes ADEDY, adding that “this is evident in the growing distress of newly appointed teachers, among others, who sleep in tents and cars because their meager salaries do not even cover rent, as well as the increasing rejections of job offers and resignations from current employees who can’t make ends meet on their wages.”

“Eurostat’s data also expose the lies of the government with the ‘leaks’ from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which are eagerly and uncritically reproduced by some media outlets about supposed raises and the billions that supposedly cost them,” it also condemns.

Finally, ADEDY reiterates the rightful demand for the reinstatement of the 13th and 14th-month pay for public sector employees and meaningful initiatives to improve the living standards of the country’s residents.

“Substantial salary increases in the public sector are now an urgent need. The government must, instead of attempting with absurdities to mobilize social automatism, immediately legislate the reinstatement of the 13th and 14th-month salaries,” it stresses.

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