The introduction of a new occupational pension benefits scheme for state service and wider public sector employees, as well as the abolition of the defrosting process for posts in the public service and wider public sector were the subjects of discussion at the second part of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee meeting on Monday.
In statements to media representatives, committee chairwoman Christiana Erotokritou said that the bill on the defrosting of new public sector posts is currently under discussion in the committee, while data has been requested from the Ministry of Finance on the posts that remain vacant or frozen and are in the process of being defrosted and various data is awaited.
"We all recognize that this is a bill that could have a significant impact on the fiscal scope of the Republic of Cyprus. It will be approached with the necessary seriousness by the Ministry of Finance and will take its turn to be brought to the plenary once it is ready, once it is mature and once all members of the Committee have before them the information they have requested."
DISY MP Onoufrios Koulla said the pension bill is a very good proposal, "a new pension plan that will progressively involve the entire public and semi-public sector. Injustices have been addressed and categories that never had pension benefits have been included. There remain some areas where we all want some improvements and we believe that there will indeed be something good, a sustainable fund that will exist for decades to come."
In contrast, Kulla said the party is highly skeptical of the bill to completely defrost new positions in the public sector.
"Inevitably this will increase the size of public sector employment, paid for by taxpayers, by a large number. To date, and this is what we prefer, the assessment of the needs that exist and the filling of positions based on those needs has been done by the Department of Finance and the Department of Personnel. Particularly in these difficult circumstances that the country is experiencing, first with the pandemic which has halted a sharp upward trend, and subsequently with war, accuracy and inflation, we believe that this review of needs by the Ministry of Finance should be made much more rigorous and not by legislation to defrost all positions." he added, adding that "our proposed legislation says that Parliamentary approval is not needed to cover promotions alone and this does not entail any additional budgetary cost as it requires retirement. This bill automatically defrosts all new vacancies, meaning a few thousand new hires, and each department, each semi-governmental organization, each municipality will proceed according to its procedures."
AKEL MP Andreas Kavkalias said that the bills before the committee are the result of the agreement with the social partners and this is something important.
Regarding the pension system, Kavkalias said that "the first thing we have indicated is the issue of retroactivity. The delay for 10 years on the part of the state cannot lead to victimisation of workers. We have noted the need to strengthen the safeguards that will protect the viability of the fund, we have pointed out the fact that enhanced powers have been granted to the Finance Minister to regulate by ordinances many important issues pertaining to the bills, and we have stood on the need to also have regulations that will provide a framework so that no category of workers are wronged. The report meets the demands of the Cyprus Army Petty Officers Association, demands of teachers and we expect answers on these issues," he said.
Regarding the new positions in the public sector, Mr. Kafkalias said that a lot of information has been requested and needs to be submitted before the committee in order for it to draw safe conclusions.
"And for this issue, the fact that it is an agreement between the social partners is a factor that is taken into account."
"And for this issue, the fact that it is an agreement between the social partners is a factor that is taken into account. Our assessment is that there is no risk of public finances being overturned, the Government may talk about a reduced number of permanent employees in the public sector, but we need to be informed about the number of temporary positions but more importantly about the amounts that the State includes in the budgets for the purchase of services that largely cover permanent needs of the public sector and we believe that they may exceed the amounts that will be needed to fill permanent positions in the public and wider public sector." This bill solves decades-old problems, but at the same time has serious gaps, with many large groups of employees."
"By way of example, I refer to the Contract NCOs (1150 people), who are entitled to continue working for 2 more triennia beyond the age of 57; and this possibility is given through the regulations of the Ministry of Defence. In this bill, these two three-year terms are abolished and no compensation is given to these employees. We have asked the Ministry to consult with them so that if these two three-year terms are abolished, they will get the appropriate and proper compensation and be included in the bill," he added, adding that there are too many workers in the Public Service, in Education who have been made permanent after 2011 and have retired before 2020, who are also not guaranteed through the bill, therefore there should also be consultation with them for inclusion.
"There are also 52 female permanent Petty Officers of the N.F. who have been regularized in 2017 and are not included in the Pension Bill, they have been given a gratuity which is being asked back at this time and the state for its own mistakes should not come demanding that every employee should pay them. These 52 Petty Officers should also be included in the scheme so that they get the same benefits. There are also groups that are asking for exemptions, which also concerns us, such as the workers of AEK and CYTA, who have agreed and worked out a pension fund plan, which is currently in operation. Finally, the retroactivity for those who retire by August 30 and will not receive anything, to also be covered through this bill," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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